House Rules teams trapped by cyclone
HOUSE Rules contestants joined the thousands of Australians who were evacuated when Cyclone Debbie wreaked havoc across Queensland and northern NSW.
The catastrophic tropical cyclone which cost at least six people their lives and wiped out entire towns hit the Gold Coast on March 30 this year.
Contestants Ella Cuthbert and her fiance Sean Mackay and Kate Whiting and her partner James ‘Harry’ Harris were working at Aaron and Daniella Winter’s family home when they were hit by torrential rain and winds of up to 120kmph.
Located next to a canal at Broadbeach Waters, the Winter’s home was at risk of being destroyed by flooding and falling debris.
“We arrived on the morning of the cyclone and we started working,” said Ella, 24.
“We were looking at each other thinking, ‘This is not good. We can’t work in this,’. But we kept pushing ourselves because it’s a competition and if we give up it doesn’t necessarily mean the clock was going to stop.”
For several hours, Team TAS and Team SA, who had been tasked with making over the home’s front and back yards, worked through overpowering winds and rain.
“It was really bad. I guess in cyclone winds you can’t do a lot and especially when you’ve got tools and debris blowing around everywhere,” Ella said.
“It was pretty dangerous. People were falling everywhere, only minor injuries, but it was sort of an accident waiting to happen.”
After several hours, production deemed the site unsafe and told contestants and workers to secure it before making their way to safety.
They packed sandbags around overflowing gutters to try and quell the rising water, and Sean set to work digging a trench around the house.
“We were already in over our heads and then the cyclone hit and basically not only was it a massive disadvantage for us in the competition but it also came down to trying to save Aaron and Daniella’s house,” she said.
Before they left, Ella phoned homeowner Daniella to inform her of the news.
“She got really emotional. I think she had seen on the news everyone’s houses were getting ruined and she knew how much flooding was going on,” Ella said.
“She was worried about us ... but (I think she was also worried about) what was she going to come home to.”