Children ‘terrified of the bath’ after record floods hit Australia

The harrowing effects of floods and drought on rural children across Australia have been laid bare, with some now too scared to even get in the bath.

Children in some of Australia’s most rural areas have been left mentally scarred by years of drought and record flooding, with some now too terrified to even get in the bath.

Former X-Factor star Jason Owen has been travelling through the remote areas with his charity Doin’ it for Rural Aussie Kids, handing out Christmas presents.

He told NCA NewsWire what he has seen in the past few weeks has been harrowing.

Mr Owen said young children in Eugowra, NSW, had been faced with a “wall of water”, and their communities had been decimated, with homes pushed down the street by the tide and windows smashed in.

Former X Factor star Jason Owen tours the country with his charity and hands out gifts to Aussie kids in need. Picture: Supplied

“Obviously, over the last 10-15 years there’s been one of the biggest droughts in history, and the effects – even though some areas aren’t necessarily in drought anymore – is that farmers have had to sell off all their livestock and machinery just to keep their families afloat,” Mr Owen, who was the runner-up in the 2012 series of X-Factor, told NCA NewsWire.

“Times have changed a bit and there’s a fair bit of water around, but farmers don’t have enough money to buy their equipment back to be back on track.

“And of course the recent flooding is really taking its toll, it’s wiped out millions of dollars worth of property.”

After years of drought, floods have ripped through rural Australia. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Monique Harmer

He said travelling the country with his charity allowed him to bring some Christmas cheer to those who were doing it tough in the most remote towns.

Doin’ it for Rural Aussie Kids, the charity set up by Mr Owen in 2019, aims to help kids growing up in some of the harshest environments across the country, including those in both drought and flood-ruined areas.

“Not many kids are getting Christmas presents anymore, it’s just the reality of how bad things are and they’re aware of it, so to take Christmas to them is amazing,” Mr Owen said.

Mr Owen knows what it’s like to feel isolated. Picture: Supplied

Mr Owen, who grew up as an only child in the remote NSW town of Albert, knows all too well what it’s like to feel isolated

During his trip, he visited schools across 10,000km in NSW, through to Central Queensland and Mount Isa, through to the Northern Territory and Uluru, down to South Australia before heading back up through Victoria to NSW.

He revealed some of the realities now facing kids who witnessed first hand the “wall of water” that ripped through their communities.

Mr Owen just wanted to bring some Christmas cheer to those he visited. Picture: Supplied.

Some of the kids unwrap their gifts. Picture: Supplied

“There are houses with their windows smashed in, some houses have been pushed down the road. A lot of the kids were forced to climb up trees or onto the roofs of houses with their mums or dads,” he said.

“These kids are petrified of water now, some of them are terrified to get into a bath.”

The scenes that scarred children took place amid one of the biggest flooding disasters to hit Eugowra, in central west NSW, close to where he grew up.

The flood level in the area reached 11.2m, higher than the country town’s estimated 1 in 5000 year estimate.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visiting flood affected families in Eugowra. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Steve Gosch

Devastatingly, two people lost their lives in Eugowra when the floods hit, and around 80 per cent of homes and businesses were destroyed by the water.

More than 150 people were airlifted off of roofs they’d climbed to in a desperate bid to escape the rising flood water.

“You can imagine being a little kid, and being grabbed by mum or dad to get onto the roof of your house to watch a massive amount of water coming up closer and closer to you.

“They described it as a tsunami. That sounds ridiculous for out there, but that's what it was like – a wall of water.”

The floods took a toll on kids. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

During his time visiting schools, Mr Owen handed out gifts, and sang songs with the students to try to bring “Christmas cheer” during a difficult time.

“I just hope that our visit was enough to bring some Christmas cheer and have the kids enjoy the sing along. That’s what it's all about,” he said.

“I hope it was enough to make a difference.

“I’ve seen first hand just how rural businesses, farming families, those who live off the lands are affected by the hard times. Droughts, locust plagues, mice plagues – you name it.

“As I was lucky enough to be runner up on X Factor in 2012, I’ve always done whatever I can to support rural Australia – it’s my home.”

Doin it for Rural Aussie Kids is still taking donations in the lead-up to the new year. Anyone who would like to donate to the cause can do so here.