Families take stock of damage after floods wash through their homes

Georges River flooding has left families across Moorebank, Chipping Norton, Milperra, Warwick Farm, Picnic Point and Holsworthy with a big clean-up bill and a hard slog ahead.

A Sydney family has braved a night isolated upstairs in their house after flood waters surrounded them and cut off their exit routes.

Anthony Lippis lives in Chipping Norton right next to the Georges River and said the direct SES warning didn’t come through until the water was already in the ground floor of their home.
“We were under water last night with nowhere to go at 10:30pm,” Mr Lippis said.

Luckily, they had prepared, taking a two day effort to move all their valuables upstairs, including a workshop full of motorboat gear and two engine blocks. They waited the water out upstairs and hoped for the best.

“Being up high we knew we had half a chance. It’s not the first time we’ve gone through it. It’s the fifth flood in 20 years but they’re becoming more frequent,” said Mr Lippis.

“We’re resilient. We’re Aussies. We’ll clean up, put everything back where it was and prepare for next time.”

Anthony Lippis, Nathan Arnold and Steve Arnold have their own motorboat team, Team Tyrant Racing, working on the motorboats out of their garage downstairs. It’s the perfect place for them to live, and they enjoy being on the river, but another flood means insurance premiums are only going to increase again.

Mr Lippis also believes that someone took advantage of the flood warnings to leave a car behind as an insurance job, and said he saw them park it by the boat ramp and leave in another car, returning later to take photos of it and go.

Nathan Arnold holds up the family's recent race win, the Melton Gold Cup.

As tonight’s predicted storm looks set to blow north, the families in southwest Sydney hit by floods have a moment to breathe and assess the damage from the floods.

The Bureau of Meteorology expects no more flooding in Liverpool and Milperra from the Georges River, and has given a final warning for the area. Just last night, evacuation notices were given to residents in Moorebank, Chipping Norton, Warwick Farm, Lansvale, Picnic Point, East Hills, and Holsworthy.

Wendy Gurney at the end of her driveway on on Corinya Road Picnic Point, with the rising Georges River that runs past their home. Picture: John Appleyard

The Liverpool branch of the NSW SES evacuated and protected the residents on the low-lying suburbs near the river, with 10 fire trucks, surf lifesavers, South Australian firefighters and SES all pitching in on the mammoth effort, with more than 185 requests for help.

Evacuation centres were set up at the Cabra-Vale Diggers Club, at 1 Bartley Street, Canley Vale, along with Club Central Menai, 44-60 Allison Cres, Menai, with some families staying overnight.

Thankfully, the evacuation centre at Canley Vale stayed relatively quiet today, with affected families either having other places to stay, or able to return to their homes after the warnings.

(L - R) Carlos Silva, Miriam Silva and Xiomara Cisneros at the Fairfield SES headquarters, collecting sand to protect their home. Picture: Paul Brescia

East Hills brothers Brock and Damon Cohen, along with their partners Kayla Squire and Britney Cohen, evacuated last night, only to return to their workshop today and try to clean.

(L- R) East Hills residents Kayla Squires, Damon Cohen, and Brock Cohen evacuated last night, and returned today to clean up their workshop. Picture: Paul Brescia

The Georges River is right on their property, where they also run a powerboat racing team, Cohen Bros Racing.
Brock Cohen is staying optimistic and in good spirits, despite the water coming through.
“We came back today to stay on top of things and see how bad things get. In 2020 the water came all the way up to the first floor,” he said.
Brock’s wife, Britney Cohen, is pregnant and due in three-four weeks.
“She’s been trying to stay relaxed upstairs,” said Brock Cohen.

EVACUATION AREAS:

Moorebank:

• Western side of Epsom Road, between Westbury Street and Childs Road.

Chipping Norton

• Southern side of Newbridge Road, between Davey Robinson Drive and Milperra Bridge
• Northern side of Newbridge Road between Rickard Road and Riverside Road.
• Eastern side of Henry Lawson Drive, between Milperra Road and Auld Avenue.
• Epsom Road between Westbury Street and Governor Macquarie Drive.
• Riverside Road between Newbridge Road and Alfred Road

Warwick Farm

• Racecourse

Holsworthy

• Heathcote Road, between Harris Creek and Deadmans Creek.

Picnic Point

• Carinya Road

East Hills

• Henry Lawson Dr, along service road opposite Maclaurin Avenue