Editorial: Help crews show we aren't alone

At the height of the big rains this week I have to admit I was getting a bit worried as surface water began tapping away at the garage door.
I have already discovered that the shed I use for firewood (in what our little granddaughter Saffy astutely calls "the jungle") has a couple of spectacular leaks ... and that leaves don't all float - some stay submerged like any good ocean floor.
There was a lot of water, and as the ground was saturated beyond relief there was a lot of resulting damage in parts of the city and the region.
But of course little kids don't recognise the big picture. They see a lot of water and a bell goes off inside their heads.
It is the "find some gumboots and let's get splashing" bell.
I saw one group of kids tossing what appeared to be blocks of wood into a lake where a green field had once been. And they were using other wooden blocks to bomb them.
There were kids on bikes ploughing through the suburban waves, yelping in soggy delight.
It was rather buoying (if you'll pardon the pun) to see kids at play in trying circumstances.
But kids are like that, and long may it last for them because one day they'll be big people and they'll start to worry about stuff.
The storm from the east was a nasty unwanted visitor but if there is to be a positive then I guess it's the fact that it did not linger like the monsoonal lows which deluged and damaged Queensland over the summer.
But there were many people in the Central Hawke's Bay and coastal regions who were hit in the way the Queenslanders were.
When bad things happen you see the good things emerge.
In time of serious need, no one is alone.
Emergency services and Civil Defence crews ensure that.
We've had disasters and weather eruptions through the years and the silver lining, I guess, is that the response teams hone their skills continually.
Road-clearing and powerline crews worked around the clock in appalling, often dangerous, conditions to try to maintain access and power.
"They are remarkable," said Unison's Danny Gough of the lines crews.
"In emergencies they just pull together and get out and get it done ... [they] just work whatever hours it takes but they get it done."
They and the slip-clearing crews are the heroes of the highways, in my view.
And the Civil Defence teams, the firefighters, the police, the helicopter crews and St John Ambulance. And the countless volunteers who set up emergency accommodation centres at whatever hour it was needed. Those who made hot drinks and prepared food.
And all those who checked on friends and neighbours.
It is reassuring to know that there is a safety net when it appears a violent act of nature is about to send your life into freefall.
All those who responded to the call?
Good on ya.