Faces of Mary River floods 2022 | Video, photos
Without warning families, farmers and business owners across the Wide Bay woke to a flooding emergency that dwarfed Cyclone Yasi but deadly devastation and despair soon gave way to a show of community strength and unity that bridged Covid division and will be remembered above all. VIDEOS, PHOTOS
Fraser Coast
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On a Friday evening communities across the Fraser Coast and Gympie were like most in regional Queensland – caught in the Covid crossfire and cancelling weekend plans thanks to forecast showers and rough seas.
All around, as clouds grew darker and the air thicker, longtime locals became increasingly sceptical about the bureau’s predictions that while the Wide Bay was within the warning zone, Seth was out of puff - his last remaining breaths packing light to moderate rain, the odd storm and dangerous tides.
Nobody, however, could have predicted that when the sun rose, rural towns would resemble war zones and the worst was still to come.
In an instant, communities which had not been immune to Covid division but had a proud history of coming together and an understanding of the Mary River’s might, joined forces and prepared for battle.
In this special feature we celebrate the flood heroes who stepped up in the darkest of days and continue to help the community as it heals.
It’s Saturday morning and Ken Diehm is up with the sun.
Sleep has eluded the Fraser Coast Regional Council CEO since the first flood-related call came in eight days ago.
Today, he’s rallied dozens of volunteers and, together with Cr Denis Chapman, is helping clean up the property of an 84-year-old man who has lost everything in one of the hardest hit communities of Brooweena.
It’s hard to believe how much has happened since the phone rang on the evening of January 7 as it quickly became clear a weather bureau forecast predicting moderate rain in the aftermath of cyclone Seth had been severely undercooked.
Rural townships between, and to the west of, the Fraser Coast and Gympie were already inundated after copping more than 600m of rain in just hours, people and livestock were missing, multiple key roads, including the Bruce Highway near Tiaro, had been torn to pieces and the city of Maryborough was in the firing line for a flooding emergency.
For Mr Diehm, who doubles as the Fraser Coast Disaster Management Coordinator, a flurry of phone calls culminated with a midnight meeting between key agencies and he didn’t stop until 2.30am, allowing two hours of restless sleep before things kicked into gear at dawn.
While the rapidly rising Mary River posed the biggest threat, communities to the north were also at risk as the Burrum and Cherwell Rivers peaked.
“This one had kind of snuck up on us,” Mr Diehm said
“Along with dealing with a Covid environment, it was school holidays, a large number of staff were away and we had two floods unfolding so it was really a triple whammy”.
As he oversaw disaster co-ordination – identifying which roads were already under and were likely to follow, bridge closures etc – teams who had trained for this moment in yearly drills set about constructing the flood levee, a temporary wall designed to redirect floodwaters and protect the Maryborough CBD which had been devastated by floods throughout history and more recently in both 2011 and 2013.
Relief set in once the levee was up and diesel pumps were in place pumping stormwater out of the area - but it was brief.
By Sunday it was clear a guillotine-like steel gate in the stormwater network had failed, a catastrophic chink in the armour which would be a problem for engineers, bureaucrats and likely lawyers down the track (Mr Diehm says consultants have already been engaged to carry out a full ‘autopsy’ but early investigations identified an issue which will be flagged with the manufacturer) but in that moment, despite the work on the levee, meant the CBD would bare the full force of the flooding and businesses were ordered to evacuate immediately.
“We thought we were beaten … the morale of everyone took a massive blow but one worker (the council’s Director of Infrastructure Services Davendra Naidu) said he knew where to find more pumps so soon we were able to go from four pumps to nine, our guys scrambled into action and we were able to get three more from Bundaberg brought in as well,” Mr Diehm said
“Suddenly, there was new hope we could beat it.
“Everyone was sandbagging, the mayor was sandbagging, members of the community were sandbagging
“The amount of sacrifice was phenomenal … they just gave and gave, when we thought we couldn’t give any more and the pumps went, they gave some more.”
The level of intensity in the night to save the CBD didn’t wane until late Sunday night when millimetre by millimetre the floodwaters lapping the river side of the levee began to recede. The mayor too, was there through it all.
While he and his wife Tania, who despite being less than impressed when a random poodle came home with her husband (the only way Mr Diehm had been able to convince a Granville couple to evacuate had been to agree to pet sit their pooch as he got them safely into hotel accommodation in Maryborough just moments before the Granville Bridge closed, isolating thousands) may not yet be considered ‘locals’, they are more convinced than ever they picked to right part of the country to move to from Western Australia.
After all, it’s been impossible for the infectious sense of community spirit not to catch on given what’s been going on around them.
Snakes, SES boats and birthday sacrifices
From wading through snake and debris infested waist-deep water, to helping with searches for the missing and ferrying supplies by boat to the community of Granville which was isolated for four days, SES volunteers have played huge part in the flood response.
Among them was Maryborough SES stalwart Neil Benson.
When wild weather interrupted the local volunteer’s holiday plans he decided to chip in to help the Fraser Coast after the region bore the brunt of hundreds of millimetres of rain at the weekend.
“I came home early and said to my wife ‘I might go see if I can help out’ and I’ve been here ever since, he said on Tuesday afternoon.
Neil, who turned 66 on Tuesday, shares a birthday with his wife and almost shares it with his daughter, born just one day before spent his special day running boats between the city and Granville.
“I’m happy here with my friends,” he said, referring to fellow SES volunteers who had come from far and wide including Bundaberg and Hervey Bay.
“That’s how you build friendships with your mates.
“I don’t come here for any accolades.”
Mr Benson, who started with the SES in 1980, said Bunnings had been a big help in their efforts and Domino’s had also helped fill bellies with hot pizzas.
He said people often underestimated the amount of work done by the SES, whose volunteers were usually the ones working behind the scenes and even copping abuse from the public at times.
“Twelve months to go and I think I can retire,” he laughed.
“I’m going home tonight and hopefully going out.”
If people want to help, Mr Benson said the SES worked hard on raising funds and donations were always needed.
“We do a lot of fundraising, raising funds to keep ourselves going.”
20-plus rescues, devastation as fireys lead recovery
Queensland Regional Operations Centre Co-ordinator for the North Coast John Pappas said up to 200 staff and volunteers were working across the Fraser Coat, Gympie and Bundaberg regions in the immediate wake of the catastrophe.
One week on, those numbers were still about 120-130 as Mr Pappas leads the recovery effort from a staging area at Maryborough cricket grounds.
Mr Pappas said from 4pm last Friday crews across the three regions were called to 291 water related call-outs
Twenty-one people were rescued.
Since the start of the floods, more than 500 damage assessments had been carried out during a week Mr Pappas described as devastating.
“Some houses are a complete loss … and in some areas the water has come up there has been hardly any damage at all,” he said.
He praised the community and the Fraser Coast Regional Council for their efforts in trying to mitigate the worst of the damage in Maryborough.
The rescue crews, whether part-time, full-time, or volunteers were “all part of the team” which worked tirelessly over the week to help the region recover.
Granville Hockey Club converted into emergency medical centre
When floodwaters cut off Granville’s only bridge and main connection to the city of Maryborough, the suburb was isolated, without access to crucial services during their time of need.
Enter the Granville Hockey Club, which had its clubhouse converted into an emergency medical centre and base.
The club put out a call to arms on their Facebook page on January 8, just as the floods disaster was unfolding, and asked any club members in Granville to help staff the medical centre.
It quickly became a safe haven for the Granville community, with volunteers cooking meals for the emergency services stationed there and provided the community with a place of refuge.
Volunteer Peter Baldwin said four firefighters, two paramedics, two police officers and at least two nurses and one doctor were based at the clubhouse.
“If it’s a medical emergency, (residents) come straight here,” he said.
“What was different about this year was the speed in which it happened … it caught a lot of people out.
“Things like this don’t just happen by themselves, it takes a real community to come together, and it really shows how Granville has that great community spirit.”
MAFS alum, wife help reunite swept away livestock
Pioneer’s Rest farmers Roslyn and Sean Hollands (a former ‘groom’ on reality television show Married at First Sight) came to the aid of their local and surrounding communities after hearing of the devastating loss of a number of livestock and beloved pets to flood waters.
The owners of River High Ranch set up the Facebook page Lost Livestock – Fraser Coast 2022 Floods to allow people to post about found and recovered animals.
“It’s such a devastating and difficult time for everyone in the area with livestock that has been lost in the floods,” Roslyn said.
“We just wanted to try to help to connect people in the area to help reunite animals by starting a page to assist.”
Her husband, Sean Hollands said he saw the wider community impacted greatly by the number of animals lost.
“We saw people reaching out on other Facebook pages and we just really wanted to bring those pages into one community and we thought that was the best way to do it,” he said.
“I know one guy has lost a hundred, one guy‘s lost 30. it would definitely be in the hundreds.
“Some people have found other people‘s animals and reached out that way, but there are still a lot of animals missing.
“We have a lot of animals ourselves, that’s our livelihood and we know how valuable they are.”
Directing traffic on deadly roads
Glenwood Fire Warden and First Officer Dick Irwin helped direct traffic when the flood waters rose up over parts of the Bruce Highway.
Mr Irwin, who has been apart of the Rural Fire Service for more than 40 years, stood in the rain for half an hour to stop traffic from driving through flood waters while he waited for police.
He also gathered information about damages sustained to Glenwood properties and roads, which was then sent to the Fraser Coast Council to establish what was needed in the clean-up effort and to help those affected.
He said Deacons Creek rose almost one metre above the Bruce Highway, the same floodwaters which sadly claimed the life of 22-year-old Sunshine Coast man and beloved Mooloo produce worker Adam Ross.
While Mr Irwin did not witness this, he said it happened approximately 1.5 kilometres up the highway from where he was stationed.
“It’s just really unfortunate, some people don’t follow all the advice of if its flooded forget it … they still want to push through the water.”
He said despite the tragedy, he was amazed at the resilience and mateship demonstrated by the Glenwood community.
Feeding the city
Maryborough couple and Sunrise Rotary members Di and Willy Paes know the true meaning of the term “big brekky”.
On Sunday morning alone, they fried up four-and-a-half dozen eggs and 5kg of bacon to help feed hungry evacuees and firefighters.
The pair’s mission to feed Maryborough started on Saturday when they were out getting supplies for someone and received a call that disaster was coming.
With a “yeah sure, no problem”, the pair set about cooking up a feast for locals.
On Saturday, meals consisted of sausages from the butcher at nearby Tiaro, steak, bread and salad veggies that were turned into tasty steak and sausage burgers.
“We did sausages that came from Tiaro because our president lives in Tiaro and was able to get some steak and sausages and we had salad vegetables,” Mrs Paes said.
Breakfasts consisted of bacon and egg wraps.
“We also made wraps for a fresh lot of fireys going over to Granville so they‘d have something in their tummies,” Mrs Paes said.
The food didn’t stop there, with cafe Alowishus delivering food, other volunteers providing curried egg and tuna sandwiches and the Salvos delivering prepared frozen dinners.
Mrs Paes said it was a big combined effort between Sunrise Rotary, Maryborough City Rotary, Happy Hearts and other volunteers that kept bellies full and happy in one of the city’s most trying times.
Mountains of donations to take weeks of sorting
If there’s one thing Steph Achilles and the team at Happy Hearts need, it’s helping hands.
The Fraser Coast community organisation hit the ground running when the evacuation centre was opened at the Brolga Theatre and haven’t stopped since.
A week on, they are still delivering toys, baby supplies and emergency packs throughout the region along with sorting through a mountain of goods sent from across the state.
Truckloads of donations have been pouring in, with one load already coming in from Caboolture and another due from Brisbane carrying brand-new donated clothes from a closed-down retail store.
“It’s coming from far and wide,” Ms Achilles said.
“It’s going to take weeks.”
If you can help, call Ms Achilles on 0432 356 142.
Community pulls together for sick visitor
Things are as neighbourly as ever in the Fraser Coast township of Boonooroo – the kind of place where if you light up a barbie in the evening you’ll probably find yourself with a few friendly guests popping by.
When Ann-Maree Macdonald’s BnB guest, Bob, started feeling unwell and became partially paralysed in his hand as the waters rose and cut the township off, she knew something had to be done.
That’s when the close-knit Boonooroo community helped come to the rescue.
After calling triple-0, Ms Macdonald took to the local online community, where everyone, including local nurses, worked together to support their Brisbane guest while he awaited help from the Lifeflight chopper.
Ms Macdonald said the guest was discharged from hospital and had to head to the Brolga evacuation centre for a meal and a sleep, which he did.
The problem the next day was how to get back to his family in Boonooroo.
Before long, the number for a man with a private chopper was handed out and Bob was dropped by chopper on the Boonooroo sports ground.
“Since this has happened we have found out we have two nurses that have just moved here,” Ms Macdonald said.
“So thank goodness for Facebook and the wonderful community spirit from Boonooroo, Tuan, Poona and Maaroom.”
The aftermath
Back at Brooweena on Saturday morning, Mr Diehm and an army of volunteers have continued the clean up effort after local rural fireys hosed out the muddy mess from Ian Perrett’s home where a heap of fresh linen, new television and other supplies were ready to be moved in.
Scooping up piles of rubbish, sweat dripping from his body, he couldn’t be further from the perception of a suit that sits in an office of the council’s headquarters in Hervey Bay’s Tavistock St playing God with ratepayers’ money.
His everyday Aussie language on social media throughout the ordeal has in fact been so un-CEO like, people unfamiliar with the names of the council executive team appeared to be unaware of who they are addressing in a post put up about the Brooweena clean.
One commenter even suggested to Mr Diehm he may like to get in touch with the local council to see if it can help.
Luckily, he knew just the bloke for the job.
Cynics may label the efforts an invaluable public relations exercise but if that was the only thing driving this man and his crew, they could have achieved it and stopped several days ago.
While he doesn’t technically have his council hat on today, Mr Diehm recognises his position and willingness to “get out from a desk” means he is armed with the information to act quickly, signing off an application to the State Government for grant assistance to be extended to areas in the far reaches of the region which he clocked 250kms in just over five hours visiting in person which, at the time of this interview, had just been given the green light.
It’s also allowed him to meet with people and witness a community effort which has instilled confidence that despite the millions of dollars and time needed to recover from this tragedy, the Fraser Coast is ready to rise to the challenge.
“It’s going to be a mammoth job … but was has struck me is the resilience of this community,” he said
“Every emergency service, volunteer and council worker who helped, particularly in the CBD, has shown incredible resilience.
“If it was prize fight, they were ready to be knocked out but they stood strong, and didn’t go down for the count.”
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