‘Devastated’: Floods inundate family’s home months after father’s death

A family has been devastated by floods just five months after their father died in a car crash. Watch the heartbreaking video of the mum’s experience visiting it for the first time.

A Cairns family has been devastated by floods, just five months after their father died in a car crash.

Ree Sanders and her three daughters, Rani, 12, Willow, 9, and Indigo, 7, moved to Holloways Beach a year ago.

Her sister Danielle McDougall said Ms Sanders, originally from Sale, Victoria, fortunately weren’t in the home when the property was inundated with knee-level water after the Barron River flooded on Sunday.

But the rental property isn’t insured and Ms Sanders is now considering moving down south.

Ree Sanders and her three daughters lost everything in their Holloways Beach home due to extensive flooding following Cyclone Jasper.

“She went through quite a few cyclones up there so she had an evacuation plan and had everything sorted. They went on a day trip to Mission Beach when Jasper hit (on Wednesday, December 13) and decided not to go back home. It was too late anyway,” Ms MacDougall said.

“They drove back to the city so they could still get to their house as soon as possible. Ree felt frustrated by the lack of notice to the potential severity. Being through cyclones before, she was confident in the information she was told.”

Ree Sanders and her daughters lost everything in their Holloways Beach home months after losing the girls father and less than two weeks before one of the girls’ birthdays. A GoFundMe page has been created to help them rebuild. Picture: Supplied.

Ree Sanders and daughters lost everything in their Holloways Beach home due to extensive flooding following cyclone Jasper. A GoFundMe page has been created to help them rebuild. Picture: Supplied.

Ms MacDougall, who has been looking after her nieces, said the girls were devastated after an already difficult year.

“They just don’t understand why it all happened. They moved to Cairns just after Ree and her husband (Jeremy) separated. Obviously divorce is hard on kids but dad was still in touch. Then he decided to relocate to WA and had a car accident on the way,” she said.
Their father Jeremy’s memory box was one of the few things able to be salvaged.

“Ree had everything in a plastic tub quite high but the damage to the house is super extensive. It’s going to take a lot of work to make it habitable again,” she said.
“The kids had been settling in at school, the eldest is heading into high school next year. They had art exhibitions and graduations and were so optimistic. It’s one of the girls birthday’s on December 29. Now they’ve had everything shattered.”

Ms MacDougall and a friend have started a GoFundMe page for the family.
“At the moment, it’s unknown what’s going to be needed or if they’ll stay in Cairns or move back to Melbourne. We’ve got the kids here (in Melbourne) and will wait and see what Ree decides.”

Originally published as ‘Devastated’: Floods inundate family’s home months after father’s death