HIGH MARK OF DESPAIR

IT’S strange when you are ecstatically happy that only half of your house is a reeking mud-covered heap of trash.

You overlook the contents of the downstairs fridge strewn across the front yard, the full wheelie bin tossed like a kid’s plastic toy into the corner, the mud-covered pool, the beautiful garden covered in gunk and the outdoor entertaining area dripping with debris.

All you can do after wading thigh-deep down the street to finally see your house after four days of desperation is lock your eyes on the sludgy line drawn across the outside walls that shows the water did not broach upstairs.

Tears flow and you feel like the luckiest person on earth because you have a place to live and most of your possessions are intact.

Others in Townsville have not been so lucky.

Like many others in Townsville last week I was feeling confident my Hermit Park property was coping well with the embedded monsoon trough that had dumped record rain on the city for almost a week. The images from Bluewater of a raging torrent destroying properties were heart-wrenching. We hoped the worst was over.

Our street had flooded periodically and we had moved the cars to higher ground. But on Saturday after nearly a week of flooding rain, everything changed.

The warnings became more insistent that conditions were ramping up but my husband Ian and I felt we could weather the storm in our highset house with our dog Cookie and cat, Dennis. We had raised most items in our downstairs granny flat and carried some things to the top floor.

Then water started to flow into the downstairs area and the power went off. There was a huge crash. The freezer downstairs had toppled over from the force of the water.

It was panic stations. It was time to get ourselves and our pets out of there.

Our brains turned to mush and we were dithering around like old fools. Many people I have spoken to agree that they brought the most ridiculous things out with them when leaving their flood-stricken houses.

I later realised I had waded out with no shoes on and had not brought any with me. We didn’t know what to do but Beaches Pet Resort at Yabulu came to our rescue and took in our pets while we booked into a hotel.

So all the living beings were safe and the rest, we told ourselves, was only stuff. But I felt sick to the stomach and very emotional. The tears welled at every opportunity. It was horrible.

We spent the next days desperately trying to get back to our house but the floodwaters kept rising and the currents were dangerously swift in our street.

The spirit in the community was amazing and messages and phone calls flew thick and fast from neighbours, friends and family. Everyone wanted to help but there was nothing to do but wait. Not knowing was the worst part.

Then on Sunday evening when they fully opened the dam gates from 8.30pm to 6am and 2000 cubic metres of water a second was released, we gave up all hope.

Seeing the horrifying images the next day of the catastrophic flooding of the city and the hundreds of people being rescued from houses everywhere, we felt doomed. So much water everywhere and we were so close to the river. We were Featuring your favourite convinced our house would be fully submerged. Charters Towers Rd was a flowing torrent. What chance did we have? How would we survive? Where would we live? How could we possibly replace everything? Would I ever wear shoes again?

Tuesday dawned and the water was receding. We were determined to wade, swim or find a boat to see our house. But the roads were clear until we got to our street, which was still flooded. We began wading.

Our hearts were in our mouths. The not knowing was over but what would we find?

To see that sludgy water line below the top floor was extraordinary. The relief was palpable. Even the stench of the mud and debris couldn’t spoil our joy.

My heart goes out to everyone who has lost their home and possessions in this truly awful flood. It is devastating. There are no words.

Our wonderful community has banded together to help people get on their feet again and the amazing support we have received in the clean-up is a story for another day.

But life will never be the same. For all of us. characters