Gold Coast floods aftermath: Yatala concrete factory under, Pandas Child Care Elanora devastated, Ben Hannant rescues horses ‘up to their neck’
Low-lying areas in the northern suburbs were among the hardest hit by extreme weather, but the Mud Army 2.0 has managed to get things looking normal again. See the aftermath.
Southern
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Shaun Craig says it was thanks to “smart forward planning” he was able to save $400k worth of machinery from “drowning” at his Yatala concrete factory.
Mr Craig and his wife made the decision to work a 30 hour work day to prepare for the flooding event which saw much of Yatala and surrounds go under.
“We worked all day on Sunday and stayed till the floods hit around 9.30am on Monday. By that time all of our equipment was hoisted up onto shelves near the ceiling.”
Mr Craig says in 2017 the flood levels reached close to 1m up the walls within the factory, destroying much of the equipment.
“We had the good sense to ensure everything was protected this time around,” he said.
“We were lucky this time with just a foot of water but still enough to cause some serious damage.”
He said businesses in the precinct, including his own, were completely uninsured.
“Being in a low lying drainage area meant the insurance companies basically laughed at us,” he said.
The owner of neighbouring cafe Caity’s, said he had suffered over $10,000 worth of damage, and all flooring and appliances would need replacing.
“Insurance companies pretty much said there’s no way in hell they’d cover our business. There’s easily over $10k worth of damage if not more,” they said.
‘Nothing to salvage’ as childcare centre destroyed
FEBRUARY 28: Parents and staff were left in tears after floodwaters destroyed a childcare centre in Elanora early Monday morning, leaving furniture, appliances and toys “beyond repair”.
Waters hit the 2m mark in some rooms at Pandas Child Care, reaching halfway up the walls in others inside the Avocado St building.
Director Ellie Overton said she and other staff arrived while it was still dark to find mud and sludge covering the floors and debris strewn across the building.
“We’ve lost everything, there’s nothing to salvage, not one bit of furniture other than a couple of tables,” she said.
“Once we realised it was getting quite severe my husband and I were trying really hard to get here. The neighbours were telling us it was underwater.
“We got to the door and broke down in tears. It’s what you work hard for, you build this place up for five years after a flood to just see it all washed away in a matter of hours.
“The teachers from Elanora State High School bring their children here. The community relies on us.
“Floods impacted the centre in 2011 but nowhere near as bad as this.”
She said she was “wading through” water once she arrived.
“The amount of sludge in here, and toys just floating, I couldn’t believe it. Even the shelves were floating. The fridges were moved out, I don’t even know how that happens by water.”
Ms Overton has since championed the local community, with parents and friends helping to clean up the centre.
It’s not known when it will reopen.
The next street over, Angelica St, was still fully submerged after floodwaters across the Gold Coast began to dry up.
A family of five were transporting suitcases in a raft with children atop their shoulders while they headed to “dry ground” to stay at a friends place.
Kristy Richardson said she was concerned about the water still close to her home and was “worried about mould” for the kids.
Radio host rescues horses ‘up to their neck’ in floodwater
A former NRL star turned radio host has recounted how he entered murky floodwater to rescue his neighbours and their horses during the Gold Coast’s flooding crisis.
Nicknamed “Polar Bear”, Ben Hannant is a co-host on the Sea FM breakfast program.
The Tallebudgera farm property he shares with wife Emma and children was inundated with floodwater overnight Sunday.
Before the family was forced to evacuate, Mr Hannant and his 16-year-old son entered the murky waters to save horses nearby with water “up to their neck”.
“I swam in with my son … I’m really proud, he’s only 16,” Mr Hannant told his breakfast radio co-hosts on Monday morning.
“We went in, we got the horses. We had to navigate through closed fences that were underwater, horses stepping on our feet.
“(We) got them out to safety but then the three people whose horses they were couldn’t swim either and were struggling.”
Mr Hannant and his son were able to take the group of people to safer ground.
“All the horses made it, everyone is safe, which is the main thing,” the former prop said.
“This is happening all over the Coast at the moment.”
Later in the morning, a dejected Mr Hannant revealed his family was being evacuated after water entered their home.
“We’re just about to leave the house. It’s not the best day,” he said.
“It’s just like most people on the Gold Coast, we work so hard to have what we have.
“It’s just a shame that a natural disaster like this happens.
“There’s so many people around here doing it tough. We’ve just got to stay strong and get through it together.”
Live from Currumbin flood zone – as houses, cars go under
SAM STOLZ
I’M waist deep in rising floodwaters on the Gold Coast and slowly making my way through the brown, murky wash to Ron Bonner’s home, which looks like it’s about to go under.
To say the 74 year-old Currumbin resident is deeply concerned would be an understatement.
He lives on Farrell Drive and the whole street is submerged, just on 11am Monday.
Cars in an underground basement are flooded to their roofs.
There’s no saving them and it’s safe to say the insurance claims will be coming in like the floodwaters – thick and fast.
Water main covers and other flotsam are floating down the road.
It’s hard to see where stepping and to be honest it’s a bit scary. Thinking of everyone in Lismore where it is next level.
I make it to Mr Bonner and he trips on a submerged object, with a neighbour helping him to his feet.
Mr Bonner says he had experienced this kind of flooding before, but “this is the worst yet”.
His residence backs onto Currumbin Creek, and there’s no distinction between its quick moving waters and his backyard.
It’s fast-approaching his two back steps and is dangerously close to entering his home.
“If it rises any higher we will go under and we’ll be stuffed,” Mr Bonner says. “Once it reaches the second step in the backyard, I will really start to worry.
“If it stops now, we will be okay.”
Let’s hope the weather gods can hear him.
Mr Bonner says he has been up since 3am, closely monitoring the floodwaters inching closer and closer to the home he has lived in for 12 years.
A man and his son are trying to make light of the situation by paddling down the street on a stand-up paddleboard.
In classic ocker fashion, the father says: “G’day mate, we are going to get a takeaway coffee.”
Right now you’d be safer on watercraft than by trying to wade through it.
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