DAM- FILLING LOW LOOMING

NIGHT OF NO AH MEMORIES STILL FRESH

YESTERDAY, WE ASKED USERS ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE TO RECOUNT THEIR MEMORIES OF JANUARY 10- 11, 1998, WHEN RECORD RAINFALL CAUSED ONE DEATH, WASHED EIGHT HOMES INTO THE SEA AND LEFT A $ 40 MILLION DAMAGE BILL. HERE ARE SOME OF THEIR STORIES.

I spent the night on the phone trying every angle to get my parents and many other people airlifted out of Blackriver as the houses around them were washed away out to sea. Scariest night of my life and that feeling of not being able to physically do anything … they were finally ( evacuated) out at about 5am. – Jill Drake- Knowles

Finished work at the R. S L. and tried to drive home to Kirwan. ( We) got to Bamford Lane then had to abandon our car to higher ground. We waded through knee high fast flowing water, it was very scary. We made it home in one piece. Although I lost a shoe and my husband had to carry our young daughter on his shoulders. I will never forget that night. – Shirley Turner

I was only little but I remember watching my dad running up and down the street in Mundingburra helping my grandma move her priceless belongings to higher ground. By morning the whole lower level of her house was underwater and so much was lost :( – Amy Hughes

Watching people walking horses to higher ground at Hammond way and allowing others to park cars on our driveway which is higher than bottom end. – Cathy Wheelhouse

In Tamworth on holidays … I remember watching the news of the flood on the TV the next day at the RSL. – Lisa Jones

We had just moved to townsville. My parents chose the house we live in today due to it being high and dry in this rain event. – Amy Mizzi

Watching from the caravan park in west end as the army rescued people from Castletown. Couldn’t see the traffic lights either. – Julie Amaral

My dad got a call out where the caltex next to red track used to be. To get home, we had to move the barricades on woolcock street as that hadn’t opened yet, and then park the car on the road and walk through the severely flooded driveway. – Kiersten Ruddell

Remember it well. We had driven through med waters from Parkside to new Willows. Went to drive home after 30 minutes but water was too high on Thuringowa Dr. So we walked. Im short at 157cm … in parts the water reached my ribs. Scary yet fun lol. However … i did end up with a horrible massive infection from the dirty water!!! – Diana Green

DREADFUL DELUGE: The Causeway Hotel, which was on the site of what is now Officeworks, was inundated in the January 10- 11, 1998 rains, now remembered as the Night of Noah, which also devastated The Strand, below.