‘It’s going to happen again’: Oxley family prepare for the worst amid clean-up

A single mother, who lives with her two sons in Brisbane’s southwest, says the area has been a ghost town since the February floods caused widespread devastation.

A single mother, who lives with her two sons in Oxley, said the area has been a ghost town since the February floods.

Deb Grgic said most of her neighbours abandoned their homes, cars and boats nearly 11 weeks ago with many yet to return to the devastation.

Ms Grgic has been living with her sister Karen Shield in North Ipswich since February but said her two sons returned home shortly after flood waters subsided.

“I’ve lived here for nearly 32 years but my husband passed away six years ago and this is the only home we’ve had – my boys don’t want to sell it,” she said.

“One of my sons moved back a week after it happened and we borrowed electricity from two houses up – we had electric cable going through two yards,” she said.

“He was living here with a fridge and enough electricity to charge his phone – just to prevent looters and then my other son moved back last Saturday but it’s really eerie at night.”

Ms Grgic said she expressed interest in the $741 million Resilient Homes Fund on Thursday after being “in limbo” with her insurance provider since February.

Deb Grgic (middle) alongside sister Karen Shield and son Addison Grgic as they are still cleaning up their Gladstone Street home in Oxley after the February floods. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“I’ve been through three floods in my lifetime and I’m not 100 year olds – they say it’s 1 in a 100 but I’ve had three,” she said.

“I went through 1974, 2011 and now this year and hopefully not twice this year but who would have thought that 11 weeks later it would happen again?”

It has been 11 weeks since the family last packed up their belongings, and only three weeks since their electricity was reconnected.

“It was only a week ago that an assessor finally came out from an insurance company and I still don’t know whether they are going to cover the damage or not,” Ms Grgic said.

“I was hoping to move home at the end of the month but who knows now.

“There are five people looking after all my stuff at the moment – my mum, sister and three good friends – that’s why we lost a lot of stuff in 2011 because we had nowhere to go.”

Mr Grgic said there’s black mould over most of their property including antique furniture.

“My husband was here in 2011 and he was in control of a lot of the repairs but I just don’t want to chuck out anything because I lost so much last time – so many treasures.”

“I’m here early every day but the wear and tear on the car and travelling up and down on the highway is all starting to add up and we’re not even back to normal yet,

“Prior to the flood I had an electricity bill for $4,500 it jumped to $19,000 because I have to throw out all my air conditioners – I was going to get the house sheeted a couple of weeks ago and I was talking to the insurance company and they said I’m better off waiting

“I need some me time but I did say to my son on Thursday night – ‘I think it’s going to happen again’ – I’m just crossing my fingers that if we get Friday night and everything will be okay.”

Originally published as ‘It’s going to happen again’: Oxley family prepare for the worst amid clean-up