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Twelve months on from one of the largest and most destructive hailstorms to hit the capital, clean up efforts are still under way. January 20 marks one year to the day since the devastating storm hit Canberra, bringing with it golf ball-sized hail and winds blowing at more than 110km/h. Thousands of insurance claims were made by affected Canberrans, with the damage bill well into the millions. While homes and cars across the city bore the brunt of the damage, there are still many parts of Canberra that are still in the process of picking up the pieces. While broken windows were a common sight following the storm, for David Campbell, repairs weren’t as simple as calling up the nearest glazier. The Reverend at St Andrew’s Church in Forrest said the building’s stained-glass windows were among those hit in the storm, and repairs are still months away from completion. “It’s a very specialised field and it’s very complicated,” he said. “I’ve seen lots of hailstorms in my lifetime, even back in the days when I lived in Ireland, but I never witnessed anything like that.” The church sustained at least $3.5 million worth of damage in the storm, with the overall cost expected to rise. While some of the church’s historic stained-glass windows were more damaged than others, he said they were an important part of the building. “They’re not just there for decoration but it also tells the story of the history of our church as well,” he said. For most of the past year, the roof of the National Library has been a fluro-orange marker in the Parliamentary Triangle. After much of its heritage copper roof was damaged by the hail, material was placed over the top in June to prevent further damage and leaks. After a months-long search to find replacement copper sheeting that matched exactly with the roof from when the library was first built, the institution is now weeks away from the new roof being installed. The library’s director of capital works Erin Dampney said the repairs would take 12 months to complete, but will come with extra protection for the building. “The new roof will be pretty much identical, with another ply layer underneath which gives the roof more rigidity,” she said. “If there was another hailstorm there’ll be a hard surface underneath the soft copper sheeting to prevent more damage.” The 15-minute hailstorm saw years of research wiped out at the Australian National University. Several of the university’s greenhouses were smashed destroying valuable work inside. Many of the greenhouses were used to house alpine plants, mangroves or imported plants grown under quarantine conditions. One year on from the storm, and just one of the greenhouses has been repaired. The head of the university’s plant science division, Professor Ulrike Mathesius, said the impact the hail had on the research was substantial. READ MORE: “It delayed lots of projects and thoroughly destroyed others because the plants were also destroyed,” Professor Mathesius said. “Many of the experiments conducted in there were long-term ones. One of them had been running for a few years and was almost finished before the hail came and all of it was lost before the data could be collected.” Professor Mathesius said it would still be some time before the remaining greenhouses would be repaired and work could begin inside them. “Once we do get the go-ahead, it would still take several months because we also have to wait for a lot of the materials,” she said. Despite the storm’s devastation, there has been some good news to come out of the incident 12 months on. While the hail resulted in the death of 10 per cent of Canberra’s flying fox population, which lives around Commonwealth Park, one year later, the population has rebounded. More than 600 of the roughly 6000 flying foxes were felled due to the large hail, and countless more injured and nursed back to health by wildlife officers and volunteers. But now, their numbers have reached more than 7000. Manager of open space at the National Capital Authority Michelle Jeffrey said the cooler temperatures in the past year had helped to boost numbers. “It seems as though the bats are back to full health and have got their pups there with them,” Ms Jeffrey said. “Flying foxes can be affected by increased heat and we’ve been fortunate to not have had any extreme-heat days.” The hail similarly impacted numbers of Canberra’s superb fairy-wren population, which had been studied for decades by researchers at the Australian National University. At least five per cent of all known fairy-wrens being observed by research teams were killed from the hail, which also coincided with one of the worst years for wren numbers due to drought-like conditions. Project leader Professor Andrew Cockburn said the hail was a traumatic one-off event but the number of birds being recorded 12 months on had bounced back. “Last year we only recorded 100 babies born that season but this year we expect to see 300,” he said.
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Twelve months on from one of the largest and most destructive hailstorms to hit the capital, clean up efforts are still under way.
January 20 marks one year to the day since the devastating storm hit Canberra, bringing with it golf ball-sized hail and winds blowing at more than 110km/h.
Thousands of insurance claims were made by affected Canberrans, with the damage bill well into the millions.
While homes and cars across the city bore the brunt of the damage, there are still many parts of Canberra that are still in the process of picking up the pieces.
While broken windows were a common sight following the storm, for David Campbell, repairs weren’t as simple as calling up the nearest glazier.
The Reverend at St Andrew’s Church in Forrest said the building’s stained-glass windows were among those hit in the storm, and repairs are still months away from completion.
“It’s a very specialised field and it’s very complicated,” he said.
“I’ve seen lots of hailstorms in my lifetime, even back in the days when I lived in Ireland, but I never witnessed anything like that.”
The church sustained at least $3.5 million worth of damage in the storm, with the overall cost expected to rise.
While some of the church’s historic stained-glass windows were more damaged than others, he said they were an important part of the building.
“They’re not just there for decoration but it also tells the story of the history of our church as well,” he said.
The roof of The National Library of Australia suffered severe hail damage, whch is now getting replaced. Picture: Jamila Toderas
For most of the past year, the roof of the National Library has been a fluro-orange marker in the Parliamentary Triangle.
After much of its heritage copper roof was damaged by the hail, material was placed over the top in June to prevent further damage and leaks.
After a months-long search to find replacement copper sheeting that matched exactly with the roof from when the library was first built, the institution is now weeks away from the new roof being installed.
The library’s director of capital works Erin Dampney said the repairs would take 12 months to complete, but will come with extra protection for the building.
“The new roof will be pretty much identical, with another ply layer underneath which gives the roof more rigidity,” she said.
“If there was another hailstorm there’ll be a hard surface underneath the soft copper sheeting to prevent more damage.”
Several greenhouses at ANU were severely damaged. Picture: Karleen Minney
The 15-minute hailstorm saw years of research wiped out at the Australian National University.
Several of the university’s greenhouses were smashed destroying valuable work inside.
Many of the greenhouses were used to house alpine plants, mangroves or imported plants grown under quarantine conditions.
One year on from the storm, and just one of the greenhouses has been repaired.
The head of the university’s plant science division, Professor Ulrike Mathesius, said the impact the hail had on the research was substantial.
“It delayed lots of projects and thoroughly destroyed others because the plants were also destroyed,” Professor Mathesius said.
“Many of the experiments conducted in there were long-term ones. One of them had been running for a few years and was almost finished before the hail came and all of it was lost before the data could be collected.”
Professor Mathesius said it would still be some time before the remaining greenhouses would be repaired and work could begin inside them.
“Once we do get the go-ahead, it would still take several months because we also have to wait for a lot of the materials,” she said.
Flying fox numbers have rebounded one year on. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Despite the storm’s devastation, there has been some good news to come out of the incident 12 months on.
While the hail resulted in the death of 10 per cent of Canberra’s flying fox population, which lives around Commonwealth Park, one year later, the population has rebounded.
More than 600 of the roughly 6000 flying foxes were felled due to the large hail, and countless more injured and nursed back to health by wildlife officers and volunteers.
But now, their numbers have reached more than 7000.
Manager of open space at the National Capital Authority Michelle Jeffrey said the cooler temperatures in the past year had helped to boost numbers.
“It seems as though the bats are back to full health and have got their pups there with them,” Ms Jeffrey said.
“Flying foxes can be affected by increased heat and we’ve been fortunate to not have had any extreme-heat days.”
Superb fairy-wrens were impacted by storm, which saw a 5 per cent decrease in population due to the hail. Picture: Richard Turner
The hail similarly impacted numbers of Canberra’s superb fairy-wren population, which had been studied for decades by researchers at the Australian National University.
At least five per cent of all known fairy-wrens being observed by research teams were killed from the hail, which also coincided with one of the worst years for wren numbers due to drought-like conditions.
Project leader Professor Andrew Cockburn said the hail was a traumatic one-off event but the number of birds being recorded 12 months on had bounced back.
“Last year we only recorded 100 babies born that season but this year we expect to see 300,” he said.
