Gympie floods: Mary St clean up begins | Video

From publicans to hairdressers, business owners in Gympie’s CBD have been met with heartbreaking scenes as they assess the damage from a monster flood. WATCH THE VIDEO:

The heart of Gympie resembled a war zone on Tuesday morning as businesses began the dreaded clean up after the worst flood in living memory.

The floodwaters, which claimed three lives in the Gympie region, forced hundreds of residents to evacuate and left thousands more without power for days, have now receded in the CBD.

In Mary St, businesses were almost swallowed whole by flood waters, with numerous businesses under water for days at a time.

On Tuesday, the massive clean up effort began, with rural fire service trucks and piles of rubbish lining the streets.

Other businesses affected by the floods include Savage Boxing Fitness Centre on the corner of Monkland St and River Rd. Photo: Facebook

The Royal Hotel, on the corner of Mary St and Monkland St, had its interiors and first-floor ceiling destroyed after the floods reached as high as the building’s second storey.

Owner Ken Stone, who was supported by an army of volunteers and council workers helping him clear out the destroyed pub, said the damage had exceeded his expectations.

Flood waters were knee-deep on the second level of the building, the toilets had backed up and were overflowing.

He described the damage as “confronting” and “gross”.

“We lost everything. We just moved everything upstairs because the locals told us ‘it will be safe, it rarely ever goes above the ground floor’,” he said.

“We were prepared for it to come up to (the ground floor), but not to the ceiling.”

The entire ground floor of the Royal Hotel was full of water, with flood waters reaching knee-deep on the second floor of the building, according to owner Ken Stone.

He described the damage as “confronting”, and said there was no estimation on when the pub would reopen.

“Hopefully we will be cleaned up by the end of the week,” he said.

The damaged businesses extended from lower Mary St and as far as Smithfield St, and included one of Mary St’s oldest hairdressing businesses.

Roma Hair Salon has been owned by Selina Stokes’ family for 55 years, and in that time she has seen numerous Gympie floods.

But she has never seen Mary St damaged as badly as this.

“We’ve been through it so many times ... this is probably the worst I’ve seen in terms of damage control and stuff like that,” she said.

Roma Hair Salon owner Selina Stokes, and her son Justus Stokes spent Tuesday morning sweeping out the crumbling ceiling of the Mary St business after the floods inundated the entire building.

The water came higher than the salons ceilings, according to Ms Stokes, and completely gutted the inside of one of Mary St’s oldest businesses.

“You couldn’t even see the front awnings,” she said.

But despite the damage, she, along with a legion of family members, threw themselves into the clean up.

“I had a bit of a cry ... but we know we’re in flood area, so there’s nothing to sook about,” she said.

“Just get in, clean up, and try and help other people in the community and get going as soon as you can.”

The clean up is expected to take several days, though the NBN will start inspections and restorations of internet in the CBD where it is safe to do so today (Tuesday).