Robynne Clifton's voice breaks when she describes her ordeal of being forgotten in the aftermath of a cyclone. It's an experience she doesn't want anyone else living with a disability to ever go through.
"I was stuck in my lounge room for four days, with no food, no water and no way of getting to the bathroom," Ms Clifton said.
"It was devastating. I just wanted to forget about living."
Cyclone Marcia hit the central Queensland coast as a Category 5 storm on February 22, 2015, leaving a trail of destruction.
The city was left without telephone connections and electricity for eight days.
For Ms Clifton, who has post-polio syndrome, the ordeal is still raw.
She has been relying on her wheelchair since 2013, soon after her husband passed away. During the emergency, no one came to check on her.
"I thought, how could anybody be so cruel," she said.
In the lead up to the cyclone, Ms Clifton's carer told her to relocate to the local evacuation centre, which would keep her safe.
However, Ms Clifton was told by the centre's staff that they did not have the experience to move her from her wheelchair and lower her into a bed.
So she returned home and sat out the cyclone in her bathroom.
"It was very scary."
Ms Clifton's one link to the outside world, a medical alert system, relied on power and then a battery, which ran out.
After four days and no sign of anyone coming to check on her, Ms Clifton said she called the ambulance for help.
The paramedics took her to hospital, but a nurse turned her away because she was not injured or sick.
Her ordeal did not stop there.
When the power returned and Ms Clifton was able to power up her wheelchair, she travelled five blocks to a centre distributing water.
She was turned away because she did not live in that local government area; she lived just outside its border.
Being forgotten too common
Unfortunately, Ms Clifton's experience is not an isolated one.
Associate Professor Michelle Villeneuve, who leads the Disability-Inclusive Development work stream at the Centre for Disability Research and Policy at the University of Sydney, has come across hundreds of similar stories.
Dr Villeneuve said there had been situations where people with disability were left without their support services for up to 13 days.
"One of the common themes that resonates over and over was this idea that nobody came, nobody checked on me," she said.
"When floodwaters are rising and people are found in their homes, up to their armpits in water, and only then neighbours recognised the risk and got emergency services in."
Dr Villeneuve said people with disability, historically, had not been included in any emergency planning processes and that put them at greater disaster risk.
"It means we don't know what their support needs are in emergency situations."
As a result, Dr Villeneuve and her team developed a suite of tools that are accessible at collaborating4inclusion.org that put the person with disability in the driving seat to develop a disaster management plan with their carers and emergency personnel.
"We actually have the first tool internationally where people with disability can self-assess their support needs, develop a clear understanding not only for themselves but can then communicate with their support network."
Falling through the cracks
Australian Local Government Association president Linda Scott welcomed the research and the program.
"We know that local governments are the closest level of government to our communities and best equipped to deliver this kind of individual care," Ms Scott said.
However, she said local governments were buckling under the increase in natural disasters due to climate change along with the continuous federal and state cuts to their budgets.
"That is why, in the forthcoming federal election, we're advocating for a targeted disaster mitigation program of $200 million per year over four years to support local governments to respond and help communities to recover and build resilience against future natural disasters."
Community kindness
Ms Clifton, who used to jump off stages during her days as an entertainer, now has her own disaster preparedness plan.
But what is most important, however, she says are neighbours and a community.
"If you have somebody who is vulnerable living in your area, what is wrong in knocking on their door and saying hi?," Ms Clifton said.
"I think a lot of people need to a little more empathy."
