Hinchinbrook floods 2025: Disaster exacerbates critical housing crisis

The mother of a family forced to evacuate their Hinchinbrook home as it filled with sewage-contaminated floodwaters says the disaster has pushed the critical housing crisis beyond breaking point.

Wednesday February 13. Heavy rain causes flooding in North Queensland. Clean up after flooding in Ingham. Gabrielle Bube with daughter Davina Bube and son Kyren Riesenweb outside their unit which was inundated by floodwater. Picture: Evan Morgan

The mother of a family forced to evacuate their Hinchinbrook home as it filled with sewage-contaminated floodwaters says the disaster has pushed the critical housing crisis in the district beyond breaking point.

Gabrielle Bube and her two adult children, McDonald’s employees Davina Bube and Kyren Riesenweb, have been sheltering in trying conditions in an abandoned shop after they were forced to flee their Ingham home when the flood disaster struck on February 1.

She said the previous home in which she was living had been sold and she was given two months to find a new rental property, finally finding a ground-floor unit on Venables St two weeks ago.

“This is the only place that was available for us to move into, so we took it,” she said.

“There is a real issue with homelessness in Ingham and it was happening well before the flood and now it is just catastrophic – it’s a catastrophic situation.”

Gabrielle Bube and her family have lost all their possessions. Picture: Evan Morgan

Ms Bube said there were no homes left available given the damage caused by the floods.

“Where are people going to go after this because there are going to be so many people in the same situation as us, they just need to know that there is somewhere to go.”

She said the homeless needed “peace of mind”.

“People really need peace of mind at the moment because it’s really scary and everything is chaos and we just don’t know what the future is going to be because it’s a scary future ahead for the town, the whole town.”

Rural firefighters from Ruperswood and Black River take a break after cleaning out a block of units on Venables St in Ingham. Picture: Evan Morgan

Ms Bube said a neighbour had alerted them to the rising floodwaters on Saturday evening, February 1.

“She yelled out and said the water was coming up the road and it was at the front gate there within an hour,” she said.

“We went across and talked (to another neighbour) who said to us, ‘you need to get out now because sewage goes through that place’.”

Ms Bube said she was evacuated from her home by former partner Lyle as it went under, with floodwaters eventually filing the unit to just below her waist.

She said the family had fled with only the shirts on their backs, saying they were doing it tough.

“We had no power, no water, no food, I ended up with an infection from the sewage, and ended up in hospital for that, then yesterday I slipped over and broke my toe.”

The Herbert River reached major flood levels in Cordelia on Wednesday. Picture: Evan Morgan

Ms Bube, who was initially reluctant to share her story, said she was speaking out to not only shine a light on the housing crisis, but also the incredible efforts of the Hinchinbrook community and local and volunteer emergency workers from out of town.

“I was told by the SES who were washing (the unit) out that they were washing turds out the front door,” she said.

“Everybody, these guys (SES) have been amazing, we can’t thank all of those people enough … that’s massive because the town would be stuffed without them … our community wouldn’t exist right now, they are saving our town.”

Emergency services in action in Ingham. The floods in Hinchinbrook Shire, North Queensland. Picture: Cameron Bates

She said on Wednesday that the family were leaving Ingham to stay in a camping ground cabin in Townsville for at least a week before they would be able to return to their rental, which had suffered significant damage as well as contamination.

“We are all pretty done in with it all, we are all sort of feeling like we are not even people right now.”

Ms Bube was relishing the thought of a hot bath, freshly laundered sheets, a comfortable bed and hot food.

“We can even go and wash our clothes.”

Originally published as Hinchinbrook floods 2025: Disaster exacerbates critical housing crisis