12 minute read
NSW FLOODS MARCH 2021
NSW FLOODS MARCH 2021
There are many stories from the March, 2021 Flood, some say the biggest flood event in 100 years. On the preceding pages we talk to a few of those affected and some of the helpers.
More flood origins: 60kms upstream from Port at Upper Rollands Plains the Wilson River is already carrying 2-3 metres of debris. By the time it reaches the bridge 10km upstream from Telegraph Point, and still 35km to Port, whole trees are being transported with the surging water.
Thanks for the photo, Alex McNaught
RESILIENT SOCIETY TO MAKE PAPPINBARRA BEAUTIFUL AGAIN
STANDING TOGETHER AGAINST THE TIDE, CHRISSY JONES, JP
March is one special month I look forward to every single year.
This is the time when the gorgeous lasiandra trees burst out in exuberant purple flowers, signalling the start of the annual Wauchope Lasiandra Festival that is full of fun activities across town. There is that unmistakable warm fuzzy feeling of everyone getting together to organise and participate in the festivities.
Wauchope is my hometown and I grew up with this festival that takes place without fail every year.
This year has been very different.
We are still not free of COVID-19 and restrictions have altered the festival greatly. Midway through the festival, the floods rained in on us and that changed everything.
For many of my close friends, neighbours and fellow residents of the Greater Port Macquarie-Hastings region, we were all left horrified and helpless at the devastation.
Our beautiful hinterland communities and beachside towns were heavily hit. Numerous businesses suffered unimaginable loss and many individuals had their homes destroyed and others face many months of clean-up and repair.
On a personal note, my husband David and myself purchased our farm west of Wauchope in the beautiful Pappinbarra Valley almost six years ago. It has been a challenge from the start to say the least. We had three years of drought and then 2020 saw bushfires blazing through the region.
2021 has not been much kinder, and the devastation caused by the recent floods has been heartbreaking on many levels.
It is difficult not to be affected when you look out and all around are scenes of damaged or washed away infrastructure. Rainwater tanks, out buildings, sheds and kilometres of farm fencing can be replaced and rebuilt over time but the experience of fear and helplessness at the relentless rain and rising flood water is something we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. Many have had to survive without power for 10 days and endure being stranded for two weeks totally cut off from the rest of the valley.
Even as I am penning my thoughts right now, we still have neighbours who are cut off and have no access in or out of their property. Their only means of provisions is via flying foxes set up by the local RFS (NSW Rural Fire Services) or helicopter airdrops by the SES (NSW State Emergency Services).
It is at such dire times that I feel so much gratitude and respect for the people in our midst who step up with so much humanity and solidarity. I must say special thanks to Chris Roelandts, the local Hollisdale Fire Captain who took it upon himself along with his small crew to set up the ropes across the flooded river to provide food and fuel.
Our close friends in the valley, Bianca and Rob Costigan have lost their beautiful home and everything in it. Both were working in town and their kids were at school when the flood waters rose and locked them out. That night, as the waters kept rising, there was little else they could do except wait with increasing anxiety which finally ended in despair when they saw the total devastation of all that they had.
They are a hardworking young couple who had worked hard to build a dream life with their two children. That night, they lost everything except for the clothes on their backs. It is heartbreaking to know this is one of many families who have endured the same devastation.
Bianca and Rob have vowed to rebuild what they had. They love the Pappinbarra Valley and this is where they have called home for four years, and where they will continue to rebuild a new life.
I could go on and tell you so many more experiences of others who have been affected by the floods. But I would like to end this by lauding the community spirit we have around us. People are banding together to pull up those in need. Our resilience, tenacity and hope is what makes us stand together against the tides.
FAMILY HOME LOST TO THE FLOODS
BIANCA AND ROB COSTIGAN, PAPPINBARRA
Very good friends of our Sales & Operations Manager Chrissy Jones, Bianca and Rob had their home of 3 years destroyed totally. They have lost most of their possessions, but thankfully having a good insurer they are looking ahead and will rebuild on their land at Pappinbarra, just a bit higher up the hill away from the river they told us smiling. Bianca, Rob and their two children, Dray and Ava are strong and have a close bond with their family and friends that will help them through this challenge.
Family and friends rallied when the call went out for a working bee to clear the debris, Rob jumped on his dozer and went to work. Where their lovely home once stood now is a pile of metal and wood. They have salvaged what they could, solar panels amazingly still intact on the roof, windows and sliding doors will be reused in their new home. An architect has kindly offered their services free of charge when the young family are ready to start planning their new home, also a Basix expert has done the same, both very generous offers of assistance.
They have just purchased a caravan and as soon as power is restored to the property will move back and start the process to rebuild their lives.
Neighbour Yvette Buthmann was flooded in on the side where the home once stood. A long-term resident of the Pappinbarra Valley since 2002 she has experienced a number of floods, the largest prior to this was back i 2013 which was very high, but not as destructive as this one she told us.
“The banks of Pappinbarra River looks like a bomb has gone off and flattened everything in it’s wake.”
Yvette and husband Christian were trapped for 11 days from Thursday 18th March through to Sunday 28th with no power. They were able to salvage a generator from their neighbours property and had enough fuel to run it, after draining it of water and cleaning it up.
Neighbours, Bianca and Rob, lost their home. Yvette was first to see the devastation of their family home. She says that she will never forget it. The night before Bianca, who was locked out due to the rising flood waters, was getting worried. As we had lived here and experienced many floods, I assured on the phone her that it would be fine. I remember on the Friday afternoon when seeing how high it was on our property that the water had come up as high as their side steps when we went for a look.
Unable to walk to Bianca and Rob’s home until the Sunday as the water was too high over the road down to their place, she remembers seeing the roof of their home and thinking it was all good. But as she got closer she soon realised that the whole house had come off it’s piers and been pushed against 2 large pecan trees. The cottage, which was Bianca’s Dads house, had been also swept off it’s piers and spun 180 degrees and slammed into the power pole between the 2 houses. All she could do was say no. no .no and got very upset. Stunned to say the least Yvette started walking back to her home. She met her husband Christian coming down in the car and told him what had happened, he couldn’t believe it either. We were both in utter shock. Telling Bianca and Rob was one of the most heartbreaking things she has ever had to do.
LIKE A WHEEL IN THE COMMUNITY
FROM TIM WALKER, BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR THE HASTINGS COOPERATIVE LTD.
Port Macquarie and the surrounding hinterland districts were drastically affected from the March 2021 flood.
The Hastings Co-operative in situations like this are the go-to or the gel between businesses and community, and we try to help in many ways. We are like a web, connected to many organisations, both in the community and business sector. keeping everyone linked and working together however remaining a central point of contact.
Initially we have provided many pallets of free bottled water to the first responders, SES and the RFS and to the outlying areas and the community halls in our large LGA region. It was helicoptered into remote and cut off communities, Francis Retreat at Bonny Hills, Telegraph Point, Pappinbarra, Beechwood, and into the Camden Haven.
The Hastings Co-operative has also provided support to the Stabilcorp run relief campaign that they were doing in the Camden Haven, a massive clean-up of the area utilising their trucks and equipment.
We have also provided supplies to the residents of King Creek that were cut-off, along with Al’s Bakehouse who provided loads of fresh bread. The supplies, fresh bread, milk and more were taken to one side of the flooded bridge and then taken across by boat from the King Creek RFS to the waiting and appreciative community.
Al from Al’s Bakehouse was a great asset to collaborate with, he and his team spent hours baking fresh bread.
At Easter St. Joseph’s school called me up wanting to help. Also, that night a resident of Telegraph Point contacted me asking if the Hastings Co-op could donate some Easter eggs for their children. So, I talked with St. Joseph’s the next day and suggested we co-ordinate together in a cooperative and combined way. We ended up helping several schools and communities, Telegraph Point, Upper Rollands Plains, Rollands Plains, Beechwood, Long Flat, Wauchope and Comboyne to have an Easter Egg Hunt, we also gave them hot cross buns. It was a combined effort between the Co-operative and St Joseph’s school, where we both provided the money to buy the goods.
In coming days, weeks we will be reaching out to our rural suppliers for their best offers on fencing gear, seed, ag equipment and supplies. We also want to help our farmers who have lost so much in the flood with the best deals we can get for barbed wire, fence posts and the like.
I think this flood event has actually affected more people in the community than ever before. Our whole community has rallied, cooked meals, helped clean homes and debris, supplied new fridges, freezers, homewares and clothing to those in need. To see this has been an amazing thing. We are an incredibly strong community and together we will get through this.
IPN VALUERS
JEFF ROGERS
Wauchope CBD was hit hard by the March 2021 Floods, especially the businesses located at the bottom end near the railway line. IPN Valuers had 100mm of stormwater through their office early on the Saturday morning. Whilst high rainfall was forecast, we didn’t expect the sheer volume in such a short period of time, we received a SMS from emergency services, but we were away on holidays so there was nothing we could do. Our neighbouring shop was similarly impacted as was the funeral directors opposite us.
The clean-up has been a big job. We had great help from family and friends for a number of days after. Sandbagging, carpet and rubbish removal, damaged office furniture, four loads to the tip - on the bright side, it was a good way to clean-out 18 years of clutter!
Thanks must go to Mum and Dad (Chris and Sandra), Terry O’Hagan, John Smallie, Erica and Luke Parkes. They helped move furniture, files, office equipment, did sand bagging, trips to the dump, cleaning and stormwater removal. On a personal level our driveway got washed into the dam and the chooks were very damp, but other than that we were fine.
SUPPORTING PEOPLE THROUGH TOUGH TIMES
LIFELINE’S VERONICA GODFREY WAS IN THE FIELD
Veronica has been working for Lifeline as a member of the Crisis Support Team for the past four years and volunteering on the Lifeline Crisis Support Telephone line for the past eight years. She grew up in the Hastings area and now is lucky enough to be raising two beautiful children, Zander and Zoe here with her wonderful husband Godfrey.
She has been visiting evacuation centres around the Mid North Coast since the flooding event, as well as different recovery hubs and evacuation centers in our local government area from Port Macquarie through to Telegraph Point and everything in between.
The stories she heard are a mixture of inspiring and heroic tales and tales of devastation and heartbreak. The community support that wraps around people who are heartbroken is something that she has been totally inspired by.
Kate McFarlane from Resilience NSW, has been incredible in organising and meeting the needs of our community through the disaster hubs.
Some of the local heroes that Veronica personally encountered include the Port Macquarie Mud Army and Olivia Tape, Helping Hand, Fran Pearse, John Faithfull at Telepoint, Kingsley at North Shore, Dee Crisp in Dunbogan, Therese Glen-holmes, Jerome from 40 Winks, Alistair Flower, Jess and Andy from Round and Round, Tunny, and the manager from the Golf Club. She says there are too many to mention and so many more out there, just doing amazing things for people flood affected by the community.
In terms of support, Lifeline would encourage anyone who needs it to call 13 1 14. And we also have the hubs in every community. There are support services visiting daily, donations still being received and GIVIT which is an amazing service.
