Stories of fear and anguish
Illawarra Mercury
Thursday March 24, 2011
Monday's incredible deluge shocked Illawarra residents and prompted the State Government to declare parts of the region a natural disaster area. The storm has also taken a heavy personal toll on those whose properties were badly damaged, as they explained to BEVAN SHIELDS yesterday. "The rain just pounded us all morning. The next thing I looked out the window and I could see the water starting to build up on the ground outside. A few minutes later I looked again and the water had risen so quickly I just couldn't believe it. I knew then I had to get out. I've lived here for 22 years this month, but now I've got nothing to celebrate. Everything is gone. We haven't salvaged a thing. We can't get the draw that holds all my photos opened because the water has swelled it right up. This is my home and if it's a write-off, I don't know where I'm going to go or what I'm going to do. I suppose I'll have to cross that bridge when I come to it.""I was at a care centre on Monday and they couldn't get me home because all the roads were cut. The whole time I was worried, I didn't know what was happening back here at home. When I got back here and saw the mess, I didn't know what to say. We can't take any of the carpet up or the wet furniture out until the insurance assessor comes later today. If I have to move, where would I go? A unit would cost a lot more money and I wouldn't know anything about my neighbours. I've lived here for 28 years this year. We had a flood 20 years ago but it wasn't as bad as this one. This was nature being cruel to everybody.""This is our holiday home. We come here pretty much every weekend, especially in summer, because we love Wollongong and we love the people here. We were in Townsville visiting our daughter when we got a phone call from someone in the park to tell us what had happened down here. We flew from Townsville to Sydney and got here today. We didn't think it would be too bad but when we opened the door, we were shocked and my wife Carol shed a few tears. Our brand new fridge, our brand new bed and brand new floor, it's all ruined. Sure, our place is bad, but I really feel sorry for the people who live here. We've got another house to go home to, unlike some of the poor buggers who live here.""The water was about 14 inches higher than it was in 2007. I just stayed and watched [it] rise. There's nothing you can do. Fire you can escape, but water just comes. They were surfing on the street. The problem was trucks coming through, and cars. When the truck came the backwash was like a giant wave. It knocked off half the fence. It went 'bang'. I thought something had exploded. My grandson came down from Sydney in his 4WD and then I thought 'oh my God, I've got to leave my house'. We built here 24 years ago. They said it might take six months [to repair]. The tiles have to come off, the parquetry has to come off. This room has to be gutted.Overnight when you shut the house up it smells like you've got dead bodies in here.""The niece of the two elderly people next door was trying to get them out, they were in a bad way. I took him first and just threw him on my shoulder. I managed to carry them both into her 4WD. I said to my son [Liam], 'whatever's precious to you, grab it now - three minutes'. Of course he grabbed his tennis racquet. We barely made it into the car. The water was coming over the bonnet. I thought, if it stops midstream I'm gone. As I came higher up the street it was easier to get out. We've still got a lot of work to do. [There are] piles for 'salvageable' and 'not salvageable'. We're trying to organise rental accommodation. Our dog normally runs around the garden but because we had all the doors and windows open to air the house out ... she ran after a car ... I just heard a bang. She was killed. It was actually good for [Liam] to get a few tears out.
© 2011 Illawarra Mercury