Damage: A part of the ceiling fell in at Tatura Hotel.
Photo by
Taylah Baker
Cleaning up: Tatura Hotel’s Peter Warburton with fallen branches and debris from the storm.
Photo by
Taylah Baker
As hail began falling on the evening of Thursday, December 22, Tatura Hotel licensee Peter Warburton didn’t know what to expect at his pub.
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On arrival, two ceiling spaces had fallen through from water damage, flooring was flooded and electrical work would need to be done.
The power cut meant the pub lost vast amounts of food and combined with forced cancellations, Mr Warburton estimated the storm to have cost the business more than $20,000.
Regardless, the team got to work, heaping wheelbarrows full of debris and clearing branches splayed across the outdoor area.
Helping hands: Shannon Pyers empties a wheelbarrow during the clean-up of Tatura Hotel.
Photo by
Taylah Baker
And Mr Warburton remained grateful for what he had.
“We’ve been hit with COVID, and we’ve paid the price for that — big time,” he said.
“We didn’t get hit too much with the floods but that hurt also, and we’ve just started to get our feet back on the ground, then this happened.
“It’s put me back probably two months, but there’s a lot to be thankful for.
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