Camden residents and business owners brace for worst flood yet

Homes and businesses in Camden – including its lawn bowls club – have now been inundated several times this year alone. See the comparison.

Shell-shocked Camden residents facing major flooding for the fourth time this year have evacuated their homes and moved their valuables to higher ground in anticipation of being hit by “the worst one” yet.

Kathy Drayton was among those set to leave their home on Chellaston St on Sunday, with further deluges forecast in the afternoon.

“I can’t bear (to watch it) … there’s nothing I can do,” she told The Telegraph as water lapping at her front door continued to rise just after midday.

A self-professed “silver lining person”, she said community support had been “awesome” after she received a knock on the door at 5am warning her to evacuate.

“It’s been an awesome enormous outpouring of community support. I had six burly men moving my stuff up this morning, some of them I knew and some I didn’t,” she said.

Water is rising around the Camden Sports Club – again. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The same club was inundated on March 8. Picture: Muhammad Farooq / AFP

A month later on April 8, Camden West RFS brigade member Chris Patterson looks at previous flood levels while helping to clean up yet more floodwater.

Her neighbour Olivia Scarce was being helped by friends and family moving her belongings to higher ground. This said it was the worst flood they have experienced this year.

She has lived in her home for three years and only recently renovated. While previous flood waters this year haven’t inundated the home, she feared they could this time.

“I’m feeling okay. I’m a bit anxious. I’ve taken the important stuff. It’s just hard because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said.

Her uncle and lifelong Camden resident Richard Drinnan was among those helping.

“I’ve lived here my whole life and you used to wait 15 years for floods, not four months,” he said.

“There’s businesses here that have been hit three times in the last few months … it’d test anyone’s resilience.”

Cows were moved from the completely flood Camden Town Farm to Camden Public School. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Camden Plumbing owner Josh Wade was among those caught out by fast rising flood waters, which inundated his Station St business, with 10cm of water swirling through the federation-style building by early Sunday afternoon.

“This ones f … ed me,” he said, adding that previous floods this year hadn’t reached the inside of the business. “We knew the rain was coming but it just came up so bloody fast.”

“There’s thousands (of dollars of damage) already … we’re a plumbing company that runs our stock out of there so it was impossible to move it all out in time.”

Josh Wade outside his flooded plumbing business in Camden. Over 150mm of rain has fallen in the last 24 hours. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Like many, he felt frustrated the town was being hit yet again with floods.

“I just don’t understand why it’s still flooding,” he said. “It’s flooded twice in 30 years and all of a sudden it’s flooded four times in six months.”

He said this was the latest blow for other businesses still reeling from floods in April and March.

“The three servos and the Sports Club. I just feel sorry for them,” he said. “I’ve got six voicemails today (for work) and said I couldn’t help, I’ve got my own issues.”

A carousel at Camden Showground under water as an evacuation order is in place for parts of the town. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Edwards St resident Danny Heyburgh had to wade through waist-deep water to retrieve clothes and belongings for the night.

He’d spent the morning moving valuables like his lawnmower to the second storey of his home.

“I took clothes and what not. I don’t think we’ll be back for a while,” he said.

“What can you do?”

Meanwhile, evacuations of other Camden residents included the relocation of a herd of cows to the grounds of Camden Public School.

The school became an impromptu holding pen for the cattle after the nearby Camden Town Farm completely flooded.