Desperate residents pack up and get out
RESIDENTS in low-lying areas of Ipswich needed little prompting to start the enormous task of packing up their belongings on Monday.
Ipswich
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RESIDENTS in low-lying areas of Ipswich needed little prompting to start the enormous task of packing up their belongings yesterday.
With news filtering through of a possible 15m peak in the Bremer River by 6pm, streets in North Ipswich, Brassall, Booval, Moores Pocket and the CBD began to swell with utes and small removalist trucks from early morning.
Armies of relatives and friends spent what should have been a day off emptying houses.
Despite clearer conditions, there were concerns the worst of the flooding was still to come, and many residents weren't prepared to leave it to chance this time around.
North Ipswich couple Kobi Morsman and Tim Casey started clearing their house after the Bremer River began to lap the bottom of Fitzgibbon St.
The pair and their one-year-old child will stay with family in Logan until the threat subsides.
"We don't have insurance so we can't afford to take any risks," Mr Casey.
"We are just taking everything that can't be replaced; like photographs and sentimental items.
"We will probably have to leave some furniture behind."
Further down the hill and even closer to the river, Michael Vallance was preparing to flee his home for the second time in two years.
Mr Vallance's insurance premium skyrocketed to $6000 after the 2011 floods, meaning he was unable to afford to cover himself for the latest disaster.
The flood reached his ceiling two years ago and was likely to at least reach the lower level of his home last night.
"We are taking everything out because we lost it all last time," the father of two said.
There was a slightly different threat over at Brassall, where the Mihi Creek was almost lapping Hunter St near Ipswich State High School by 10am.
Mihi Grove residents Lyndall and Russell Schloss had about a dozen people helping them empty their unit from early morning.
While the 2011 flood went up over their ceiling, Mr Schloss said this flood would not make it into their house if it remained below 15m.
"At the moment we are hoping the predictions are right at 15m and we will be okay," he said.
"We will get through this first step of emptying the house and worry about where we are going to stay later - even if it's in a hotel it doesn't matter."
Although the Schlosses had fully rebuilt and recovered from the last disaster, they were unable to get their insurance company to cover them for flood damage.
"The insurance has been an on-going saga for us," Mr Schloss said.
The Bremer River was also encroaching on private properties along the Moores Pocket stretch - another area that was severely affected in 2011.
Those living at the bottom end of Moores Pocket Rd looked likely to cop a second major flood in two years.
Nearby resident Peter Tobin said the main concern was that people did not know how high the river would rise.
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