Chapter 171: New Zealand's Lament

This cabinet meeting lasted until dawn, and Arthur and the cabinet ministers worked out a more appropriate disaster preparedness relief plan.

For this possible disaster, Australia will mobilize officials and forces from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Civil Affairs. Prime Minister Evan will take command, Arthur will personally supervise, and the Ministry of Finance will strongly support. If the typhoon really lands on the southeast coast of Australia, then Australia will mobilize the whole country to quell the disaster.

The Australian government will invest at least 500,000 pounds to be responsible for the treatment and resettlement of the victims.

The royal family will invest 600,000 pounds to be responsible for the relief and living security of all victims. At the same time, a certain degree of compensation and assistance will be provided to the Australian people whose property has suffered major losses to ensure that they will not become refugees or zero-income groups due to this loss.

That afternoon, that is, the afternoon of November 7, 1903, the Australian army that was training in the mountains west of Sydney had been fully equipped and gradually set off towards Sydney in the east.

Their current mission is to first station in the western suburbs of Sydney, and then quickly move to the southeast coast to carry out the initial rescue work after the typhoon ends.

The Royal Consortium's rescue supplies are also being urgently prepared. In order to gather enough supplies, the Royal Consortium will jointly collect them in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and then use cars to quickly transport them.

The typhoon approached the southeast coast of Australia in the afternoon, moving from the offshore of Melbourne to the northeast. In the eyes of all Australians who were terrified and relieved, the typhoon gradually swept to the southeast.

This is a good news for Australia. Although the typhoon once approached Australia's most important southeast coastal area, it only stayed in the offshore area of ​​the southeast coast for a while before changing direction to the southeast.

For Australia, the casualties caused by this typhoon were not large. Except for some small ships that were still offshore when the typhoon approached, there were no casualties on the coast.

After several confirmations, it was confirmed that the typhoon was indeed sweeping southeastward. The entire Australian government relaxed and canceled the previous order for disaster relief mobilization. Australia returned to its normal construction.

However, although the orders for the mobilization of various departments and the army were canceled, the aid materials and funds prepared by the government and the royal family were not returned to their original places.

To be precise, the government and the royal family's aid and relief funds were reduced from the original 500,000 and 600,000 pounds to 150,000 and 300,000 pounds respectively.

But these two aid funds were not prepared for Australia, but for Australia's southeastern neighbor, New Zealand.

New Zealand is located in the southeast of Australia and is one of Australia's friendly neighbors and the countries with the closest ties.

And the Australian cabinet ministers are naturally aware of what Arthur has done in New Zealand, knowing that New Zealand is currently being wooed and is very likely to join Australia one day in the future.

The cabinet officials still want to see this. Especially the former colonial governors headed by Prime Minister Evan.

During the Australian colonial period, New Zealand had been part of Australia for a long time.

It has only been 63 years since New Zealand officially separated from Australia, and the merger is still very likely for the two countries and regions.

The typhoon is currently heading southeast and may land in New Zealand. This is something that must be prevented. If the typhoon lands in New Zealand, it will be a huge burden and disaster for New Zealand's current poor financial situation.

If Australia and Arthur can provide timely assistance at this time, it will be much better than adding icing on the cake after New Zealand develops.

As long as the hearts of all New Zealanders can be firmly grasped, New Zealand will also be a piece of fat meat in Australia's mouth, and it will never fly away again.

In the early morning of November 8, 1903, Opunaki, a small city in the southwest of New Zealand's North Island.

This is an ordinary and quiet small town in New Zealand, with a permanent population of only more than 3,000 people.

If it were not for the proximity to the South Taranaki Bay, where residents can go out to sea to fish, the economic situation here might be similar to that of the towns in the South Island.

However, fishing is also a job with unstable income. When you catch a lot, you can earn three or four pounds a month, and when you catch less, you can earn less than one pound a month.

This has also made the people living here more hardworking. They often go out to sea to fish before dawn and will not go home until it is almost dark.

Although it is only a little after four in the morning, there are already many small fishing boats hanging kerosene lamps on the seashore of Opunaki ready to set sail. They are going to the Tasman Sea farther away, where there are many natural fishing grounds with more abundant fish, which can allow them to earn more income.

In an ordinary fishing boat on the coast, Eric Theodore Cartman and his wife Orsola Aquinas are carefully checking things, making sure that nothing is forgotten, and then preparing for a new day of sailing.

"Eric, why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?" When preparing to set off, Orsola Aquinas suddenly frowned and said to her husband Eric Theodore Cartman with some uncertainty.

"Hmm? It's okay, Orsola. You must be too tired during this period. Why don't you go back and rest today? I can do it alone." Eric Theodore Cartman was stunned, and then comforted.

"Maybe it's my illusion, dear. It's okay. I can also hold on until I come back to rest at night. One more person is also a helper, right?" After hearing her husband's explanation and comfort, Orsola Aquinas also felt that she was thinking too much because of poor rest. She shook her head gently and put away all distracting thoughts.

While the two were talking, several fishing boats had already sailed towards the South Taranaki Bay. Eric Theodore Cartman also accepted his wife's proposal to stay and help. In order not to fall behind, the two hurriedly drove the fishing boat towards the Tasman Sea.

The South Taranaki Bay was as calm as usual. Except for a few small fishing boats that occasionally passed by, the rest of the time seemed to be in a peaceful darkness. There was no movement except the sound of water and the roar of steam engines.

As the fishing boat gradually sailed out of the South Taranaki Bay, Orsola Aquinas felt more and more uneasy, and the waves around him also made Orsola Aquinas feel flustered.

"Dear, what's wrong with me? Why do I always feel that something bad is going to happen?" Orsola Aquinas finally couldn't help it and asked Eric Theodore Cartman beside him again.

Eric Theodore Cartman didn't smile to comfort and explain this time. The instinct of a senior fisherman also made him feel that the sea area he was in was unusual.

As the waves in front became more and more violent, and even gradually evolved into layers of waves, Eric Theodore Cartman's face became more and more solemn. He turned to Orsola Aquinas and said, "Maybe you are right, Orsola. We can't fish today. Go back quickly and inform everyone that a typhoon may be coming!"

As he spoke, Eric Theodore Cartman had already begun to control the fishing boat to turn and return to Opunaki.

"Oh, my God. No way, are you sure it's a typhoon?" Orsola Aquinas looked incredulous, without any joy of having her predictions confirmed.

"Although it can't be completely guaranteed, it seems very likely. Orsola, go and notify all the neighbors to evacuate as much as possible. I'll go find the mayor and ask him to notify other towns around to evacuate as soon as possible." Eric Theodore Cartman said to Orsola Aquinas with a heavy face while controlling the fishing boat to return.

If it is really a large typhoon, the loss to New Zealand will be huge. Even if the typhoon does not land, it will cause a large number of casualties and property losses to the fishermen in the Tasman Sea and North and South Taranaki Bay.

In the small town of Oplaki alone, dozens of fishermen have gone out now, not to mention other small towns in North and South Taranaki Bay. I'm afraid that at least hundreds of fishermen have gone out to fish. I don't know if half of them can successfully escape back.

Because Eric Theodore Cartman used the fastest speed, the fishing boat quickly returned to the small port of Opunaki.

Orsola Aquina and Eric Theodore Cartman did not care about packing up the things on the fishing boat at this time. They quickly got off the fishing boat and ran towards their destinations.

When Eric Theodore Cartman came to the mayor's house and successfully woke up the mayor, the typhoon had really arrived at the seaside of Opunaki.

Under the influence of the typhoon, Opunaki had a torrential rain that had never been seen before. This torrential rain also woke up many people who were sleeping soundly. When they looked up at the sky, they were instantly shocked by the huge raindrops.

Because it is a coastal town very close to the bay, Opunaki's original advantages have now become fatal disadvantages. At the same time, all the residents of the town can clearly see the huge typhoon vortex in the distance.

Without much hesitation, the first reaction of all residents was to wake up their families around them, not caring about packing things, and hurriedly fleeing to the inland of the North Island.

Unfortunately, how can a human run as fast as a typhoon? Just as I ran out of the town, a huge wave more than five meters high rushed towards Opunaki, instantly submerging this town with a history of hundreds of years.

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