Ballina flood: Tessa Flemming tells her harrowing flood story after emergency service bungles

Tessa Flemming spent the last floods in an evacuation centre. This time, along with many other Ballina residents, she was given no evacuation warning and ended up trapped. Read her story.

Northern Star journalist Tessa Flemming spent part of the first Northern Rivers floods in an evacuation centre after fleeing her Ballina home.

She has recalled the heartbreaking experience of the region’s devastation at being hit by another deluge while barely beginning to recover.

Worn to the bone, exhausted and frustrated Northern Rivers residents had barely started to recover from the horror of last month’s floods when the heartbreaking truth set in - it was happening again.

At my home, in West Ballina the piles of flood-ravaged furniture and mould-frosted wares were taken away from the kerb just a few days before we got news a second rain bomb would hit us.

Initially the State Emergency Service and Bureau of Meteorology were cautious, but hopeful.

“We want people to be prepared but not be alarmed,” NSW SES member Ashley Sullivan told Northern Rivers residents on Sunday.

The weather system was predicted to be a lot different to the one which had just soaked and devastated our community.

Neighbours call out to each other as West Ballina floodwaters rise on Monday March 30, 2022.. Picture: Tessa Flemming.

But the nerve and trauma was still raw for many of us who live in Lismore and surrounds. Four weeks ago, my partner and I were evacuated for more than a week while floodwaters tore through every room in our home. We counted ourselves among the lucky ones.

Personally, I was exhausted and burnt out beyond comprehension. And as the rain set in early Tuesday morning, the thought of doing it again broke my heart.

I had covered droughts and fires, but this was a new low.

Over the weekend and Monday, the Wilsons River was predicted to rise but not overtop the levee.

Ballina weather: Photos from floods in West Ballina

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There was a predicted minor to major warning for the Richmond River - including the catchments of Coraki and Woodburn but none for Ballina.

Sandbags were made available to Ballina Shire residents on Monday but the station closed by 6pm. It was too late for anyone with a 9 to 5 job. I took a half a dozen which was all I could lift alone.

Northern Star journalist Tessa Flemming’s home was flooded for a second time.. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

But fearing that the still-sodden grounds of the Northern Rivers would not handle another soaking was enough for us to lift treasured items that survived the last onslaught as well as those brand new and untouched, to higher ground.

Evacuation bags were packed with a looming sense of deja vu but a warning never came.

Heavy rain battered down our roofs and by 2am on Tuesday, there were already pools lapping at our backdoor.

We set an alarm for 4.30am, the rough time the evacuation warning came out for West Ballina on March 1, 2022.

We woke up and still had no warning yet the rain hadn’t stopped.

Exhausted, we fell back to sleep.

About 6am, we woke up and our car outside had water up to its tyre and the garage was flooding.

With two small cars and a water inundated road, it was now too late to leave.

We still hadn’t received a warning or evacuation order.

At that point, the panic and hopelessness crept in. After being overlooked for initially for additional disaster payments, we were forgotten once again. I felt anger fuming coupled with despair.

With high tide predicted at 8am, Wilsons River was still rising.

At the same time, Lismore residents met their own flood-worn tribulations with a safe to return order for Lismore CBD, Lismore Basin and low lying areas of East Lismore and Girards Hills residents hastily reversed.

How could rain that had been falling since last week catch government organisations already on the ground unaware? And that miscalculation falling on the shoulders of residents who had already lost so much.

About 8.45am, the power went, posing a new challenge for us to keep in touch as the water crept through sandbags into our backroom.

Last time, we had heeded evacuation warnings and left home before our roads were covered but now we were trapped.

Over the next few hours we watched our neighbour walk through waters with their dog, traumatised and heartbroken that this was happening yet again as another paddled through the road with a kayak.

An Army Defence Force personnel doorknocks West Ballina residents as floodwaters rise on Monday March 30, 2022.. Picture: Tessa Flemming.

About 1pm, we saw our first sign of help as an Army personnel told us he recommended leaving but didn’t push anyone.

We chose to go, something we would have preferred to have done with our cars and an order hours earlier.

From there, we were taken on a boat via SES volunteers and two trucks to the Ballina SES base.

Of the more than 500 requests for SES assistance across the Northern Rivers and Mid-North since Monday, most of these came from Ballina with 181 calls for help. 

SES volunteers told us we were once again heading to Lennox Head Cultural Centre.

At the same time, the centre was being recommended in an evacuation warning for Bungawalbyn, Swan Bay, New Italy and Woodburn residents who couldn’t get through a flood-swallowed Pacific Hwy.

But unlike last time, we were told by Red Cross volunteers as we entered the doors there were limited beds and some evacuees were being bussed to Brisbane.

We saw others choosing to sleep on the hard floor.

According to a Departmentof Communities and Justice spokesman, this was due to some hotel accommodation being used by flood-affected residents becoming unavailable over the Easter holiday period.

“While every effort has been made to source other local accommodation options, the widespread scale of flooding and unprecedented need for accommodation means that other equivalent accommodation needs to be provided in the Gold Coast and Brisbane,” they said in a media statement.

“People who have their own means of transport will be provided with a $150 fuel voucher to cover the cost of driving. People who require transport will have this arranged by DCJ. A $250 Woolworths voucher will also be provided per adult being moved.

“We apologise for the inconvenience and every effort will be made to make this transition as smooth as possible during this stressful time. We will also ensure households are moved back closer to their home communities once the Easter holiday period is over.”

My office for the time being at Lennox Head Cultural Centre during the February floods after evacuating Ballina.

It was the telling sign of an utterly exhausted force of volunteers, responders and residents.

Just four weeks after the one in 500 year flood, we were facing another unprecedented disaster and everyone involved was worn to the bone.

Still, no one can fault the overwhelming response from the locals that was still there who out of their own selflessness offered us lifts to new accommodation, food or a helping hand.

No doubt many of those who evacuated Ballina were Lismore residents sheltering at families or one of the countless no-vacancy hotels.

The Wilsons River was predicted to reach 2017 levels but luckily peaked at 11.4 metres on Wednesday.

Ballina copped 900mm of rain in the past week, most of it Tuesday and Wednesday and an evacuation order was never made during that time.

As a community, the Northern Rivers isn’t even at the first step into the recovery journey. So when the water gauges failed to accurately measure, the emergency sirens didn’t work and we received no evacuation warnings it’s not hard to understand why we are so frustrated.

For those so acutely traumatised, the mere sound of more rain brought anxiety and heartbreak, let alone that of another lacklustre government response and warning.

As we return home on Thursday, I am thrilled beyond belief we haven’t been hit as bad and devastated for those who have.

And as the storm now heads south, I can only hope for a better outcome and emergency response for those residents who too may be left flood-ravaged.