Knee-high water greets shocked Gore couple
A Gore couple are deflated as they face a potentially long wait before they can return to living in their home.
Kerry and Malcolm Neilson’s Toronto St property was one of the worst hit in this week’s Gore flooding.
On Wednesday night, close to 24 hours after they had been evacuated, police escorted the couple back to their home via the flood banks to take a quick look at the water damage.
What greeted them was kneehigh water running through their home, where Malcolm has lived for 15 years. ‘‘It sucks,’’ Kerry said, summing up the couple’s situation.
The couple were hopeful they could be back living there within a week but conceded that it could be many weeks.
Kerry and Malcolm were on their way to the Elton John concert in Dunedin on Tuesday night when a neighbour phoned to tell them they should return home.
When they arrived back at 5.30pm they were greeted to water coming through the carpet of their home.
They gathered a few possessions including one of their three cats and left. They remain hopeful the two cats have survived the ordeal and will still be their when they return permanently. ‘‘We will get through this, we’ve got each other, family, and so many good friends helping us,’’ Kerry said.
The Neilsons home is one of six houses on the river side of Ontario St, which are believed to be the hardest hit in Gore on the back of the flooding.
Gore plumber Blair Sheddan was yesterday morning nervously waiting to find out the extent of the damage to his business. However, he was more concerned about the surrounding houses in the area.
Bill Sheddan Plumbing has operated in Gore for close to 40 years, with a majority of that time spent located in its current Ontario St site. It is the first time the business has been flooded, which included surviving the last major Gore flood in 1999.
He expected the site, which included a showroom, to be have plenty of water flowing through it.
Abernethy Contracting has been working around the clock since Tuesday pumping water from affected areas in Gore.
‘‘We will get through this, we’ve got each other, family, and so many good friends helping us.’’ Kerry Neilson
Bystanders around the Ontario and Toronto street area described those contractors as the unsung heros during the past couple of days.
Craig Abernethy, of Abernethy Contracting, said they had four umbilical pumps working continually since Tuesday, each pumping one million litres every hour. He believed they had saved at least 30 houses in east Gore from flooding.
‘‘I got one hour sleep on Tuesday night,’’ he said.
Glen Chapman, who owns the Engine Reconditioning business in Ontario St, said he was able to get into his businesses on Wednesday and estimated there was 10 to 15cm of water through his building. ‘‘They told me it could get to six feet and that made me nervous,’’ Chapman said.
Brothers John and Gordon Haugh have both own properties on Toronto St for more than 30 years. They described the rapid rise of water around their houses on Wednesday as one of the most scary moments of their lives.
‘‘We were staying calm but we’ve both lived here for over 30 years and we’ve never seen flooding like that,’’ Gordon said.
John and Gordon’s parents, who are both in their 80s, also live with John and the three have been able to find a place to stay at a work colleague of John’s.
Gordon is in a wheelchair and has been put up at the Windsor Park Retirement Village.