Words of wisdom: After working all over the world in the disaster-recovery space, Melbourne clinical psychologist Dr Rob Gordon offered his advice at a Rochester Community House event last week.
One of the world’s foremost experts on disaster-impact research last week warned the Rochester community not to succumb to the “six-month syndrome” commonly associated with disaster events, such as last year’s October flood.
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Dr Rob Gordon explained at his Department of Families Fairness and Housing (DFFH) Victoria-sponsored presentation that most flood-affected Rochester people would now be reaching the end of their energy reserves.
“There is often some major issues in disaster-hit communities at the six-month mark (post event). I reckon that is about how long most people can go on doing two jobs (living life and dealing with the recovery process),” Dr Gordon said.
“Not only have people in this town had to deal with their normal lives and all the associated challenges, but they have also been dealing with recovering from a disaster.
Christchurch earthquake, February 2011: A 6.3-magnitude earthquake, believed to be an after shock of a September 2010 7.1 quake, destroyed much of the New Zealand south island city’s CBD and killed 185 people.
“In my experience it is rare that people are able to eat, sleep and breathe disaster recovery, while also trying to get on with life, and maintain their energy levels.”
Dr Gordon’s six-month assessment came on the back of his experience dealing with Mount Macedon victims of Ash Wednesday (in February 1983) where seven people were killed and 628 buildings were destroyed by fire.
He said that town had experienced symptoms typical of what he had seen in his dealings with a series of other worldwide disaster events.
“We used to meet in the GPs room at Mount Macedon and a doctor from the town said to me after three or four months ‘we are nearly through this’,” Dr Gordon said.
“A month or two later, at the six-month mark, things started happening in the community to suggest otherwise and there was a number of significant problems in the area.”
For those who were not able to muster up the energy to attend Dr Gordon’s address there is a series of videos on the website that offer a similar explanation of his thoughts to what he offered the assembled mass at the recently renovated shire hall.
The six-part video series starts with a “coping with stress after an emergency” episode and flows through post-emergency to uncertaincy and anxiety before providing strategies to manage stress and learning to trust yourself following a disaster event.
Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, August 2005: 1342 people died and there was a $100 billion damage bill after Hurricane Katrina caused widespread flooding. Fatal engineering flaws in flood protection were blamed for the extent of the damage.
Dr Gordon described a pattern he had seen re-occur in several disaster-affected cities and towns, including New York after the World Trade Centre attacks of September 11.
“Healthy and functioning people gear themselves up to deal with problems and their responsibilities,” he said.
“The problem is they are giving out so much energy without taking any in.
Ash Wedensday, south eastern Australia, February 1983: 180 fires across south-eastern Australia in a 12-hour period killed 75 people and burned thousands of homes. It was Dr Rob Gordon’s first disaster event.
“In Rochester there is still a way to go, you are probably not halfway and that is typical of all disasters.”
Dr Gordon held a small crowd spellbound at Rochester Shire Hall on Wednesday evening in a 90-minute presentation that offered an insight into his experiences in Australia and overseas.
The Melbourne-based clinical psychologist, and mental health expert, started his journey in the field after the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983 and more recently has worked with Emergency Recovery Victoria following the Black Saturday events of 2009 and the Black Summer of 2020.
His research and accompanying model for providing support to disaster-impacted communities has been adopted by the Australian Red Cross, government agencies and other groups working with traumatised communities after disaster events.
Dr Gordon was the “go-to” man for person-centred support to those impacted by the Port Arthur Massacre, the Bali Bombings and a list of worldwide events to make the most hardy soul’s head spin.
He was on the ground following the September 11 attacks on New York’s World Trade Centre 22 years ago, in Christchurch 12 years ago when the New Zealand south island city was nearly destroyed by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake and had a strong connection to experts who worked with the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005.
All in all a reasonable list of qualifications to offer advice to the residents of Rochester and district about how best to come out of the 2022 flood in as good a mental shape as could be expected.
