This news article explores the enduring psychological effects of Cyclone Tracy, a devastating natural disaster that struck Darwin in 1974. It features personal accounts from survivors who recount their traumatic experiences and highlights the long-term impact on individuals and communities.
Alison Wallace knows about trauma — as a psychotherapist she works with it, and she has also lived it. On Christmas Eve of 1974, huddled under the kitchen table with her family and clinging to her puppy Whisper during Cyclone Tracy , then 10-year-old remembered repeating over and over, 'please God make it stop, please God make it stop'.The table the family had set for a joyful Christmas feast had become their saviour.What she thought was thunder were the brick walls falling around them.
Like so many children that night, her safe world was shattered in the darkness and the dawn brought an unrecognisable space. 'I didn't know where I was. I didn't know if I'd been picked up and placed somewhere else because nothing was familiar,' she recalls.Much like a city takes time to rebuild, so do people. In 1974, the response to Cyclone Tracy survivors focused on people's physical needs and physical safety.Nicole Sadler, a director at the Phoenix Australia Centre of Posttraumatic Mental Health, says a disaster event in itself can be distressing, but there are secondary adversities that can continue to give a sense of insecurity.On Christmas Eve 1974, Theresa Roe hid in a hallway cupboard and said prayers all night while Cyclone Tracy tore her home apart around her. She was one of hundreds of people who attended a 50th anniversary commemoration event in Darwin. 'We have a much better understanding of the long tail, in terms of the impact of events like these,' Professor Sadler said.'The impacts are psychological, they're physical, they're environmental, they're community, they're financial. 'They impact so many facets of someone's life that it's not just something that you quickly recover from.'Post-traumatic stress can take time to manifest, and treatments for trauma have continued to evolve. Professor Sadler explains that we experience trauma through our sense
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