Mackerel Beach landslip: Suzie Haddock reveals how rock the size of a dining table landed in yard
A woman has described the terrifying moment a boulder the size of a dining table came crashing down a hill towards her house and how her neighbour cheated death, following a landslide on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Manly
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A woman has described the moment she was woken by a boulder the size of a dining table crashing down the hill towards her house after heavy rain caused a landslip on Sydney’s northern beaches this week.
Suzie Haddock, 62, who lives with her husband Joe, 69, in the quiet hamlet of Great Mackerel Beach on Pittwater only accessible by boat, said the sound was like a really big roll of thunder.
“There was this incredible noise like a really big roll of thunder that went on and on and on and then a huge crash,” she said.
“The boulder was the size of a small dining table and it crash landed 10ft from our bedroom window.”
The rockfall happened at around 11.40pm on Sunday night. In total 25 residents from 18 homes were evacuated.
Mrs Haddock’s neighbour, an elderly lady in her 70s is lucky to be alive after boulders smashed into the ground floor of her property knocking out the staircase.
She had been asleep on the first floor and had to clamber over rocks to get out of her home, according to her neighbour.
Mrs Haddock said her elderly neighbour had just sold the property and exchanged contracts with the buyers before the house was destroyed.
Residents in all but six of the properties have since been allowed to return to their homes.
Three of those six properties are holiday homes.
Mrs Haddock and her husband Joe, 69, are one of the three families currently homeless.
One of the holiday homes was also badly damaged. That family has previously lost a home in the Blue Mountains bushfires several years ago, Mrs Haddock said.
Mrs Haddock said the community was wonderful at Mackerel Beach and they have been allowed to stay at a house opposite their home, but they’re not sure for how long.
Because their home did not actually suffer any damage they are unable to claim on their insurance, and they also cannot go back in to get any of their possessions.
They have a few clothes they grabbed before they left in the middle of the night.
Mrs Haddock said her husband was due to go into hospital for an operation next week.
She said geotech engineers were coming in today to assess the situation.
The land where the rocks fell is owned by National Parks and Wildlife.
“We are just hoping for an answer on what’s going on,” Mrs Haddock said.
“I’m hoping they are not going to say we can’t go back at all.”
The Manly Daily has requested a comment from National Parks and Wildlife.