Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) nurse Maartje Smit was on the frontline as rain poured down on the outback town of Fitzroy Crossing in January.
The small Kimberley community was dealing with one-in-100-year flooding, and its tiny airstrip was playing host to the Australian Defence Force, emergency services and the RFDS – all the while partially under water.
Resources had been spread out across the North West to deal with the disaster, and Ms Smit was based at Port Hedland to help support the emergency crews.
"I picked up a patient and he goes, 'Fitzroy airstrip has been like Heathrow Airport – it's just so busy'," Ms Smit said.
Months on, as the floodwaters recede and the slow work of repairing the roads gets underway, the work is just beginning for the RFDS.
"We've been doing transfers that we don't normally do because there can't be road transfers," Ms Smit said.
Patients take to the sky
One of the largest regions in the country, the Kimberley is already known as one of the most challenging patches for the RFDS.
Its isolation, compounded by patients with acute health issues, means the service is responsible for flying people thousands of kilometres to reach urgent healthcare.
And with the road network that connects the East and West Kimberley unusable until at least Easter, chief executive Judith Barker says the challenges are only just beginning.
"It's never just the event, it's everything that follows," she said.
"The roads are damaged, which means more people will have to be moved around by plane."
The service is moving about seven patients a day in the Kimberley, an increase from years prior.
"Our workload is up and it's up across everything," Ms Barker said.
"We know that the road network's not going to be back in the next month or two, and we know that the Kimberley is already challenged when it comes to health in the bush."
The service has already reported an unprecedented rise in snake bites as the reptiles move away from flooded bushland, and an increase in vector-borne illnesses from swarms of mosquitoes hanging around following the rain.
Ms Smit said while those were expected from serious flooding, the service also had to fill another gap for Kimberley residents.
"There's a lot more stress, [a lot more] mental health [cases]," she said.
Logistical challenges
While the service continues to operate as best it can, emergency management lead Dan Byles says the logistical challenges will continue for months to come.
"I think the ongoing road closures, particularly the Gibb River … will still be a significant challenge," he said.
"That is indicative across any wet season in the north, but especially after the rainfall we had in January.
"The usability of airstrips continues to be a challenge."
Mr Byles says despite the difficult task ahead, it is heartening to know the worst is over.
"Our crews really stepped up in early January. A lot of them went above and beyond," he said.
"Particularly our crews in Broome. They had suffered significant flooding to their homes, their lives were disrupted, but they put their hands up [to help].
"They really did put our patients first and it was wonderful to see that our crews always deliver when when the times are tough."
