NSW floods: ‘We’re all family’ … neighbours urged to evacuate stay back to help out their mates

In assembly-line style, residents on Church Street at Windsor in Sydney’s flood-hit northwest worked hand-in-hand against the raging Hawkesbury river.

The bridge at Windsor in Sydney’s northwest is completely submerged as the swollen Hawkesbury River continues to burst its banks. Picture: John Feder

In assembly-line style, residents on Church Street at Windsor in Sydney’s flood-hit northwest worked hand-in-hand against the raging Hawkesbury river.

“We are all family here,” said Nanette Cooper, as she guided Darren Cini’s sandbag-laden ute through the rapidly rising floodwaters.

As the swollen river surged ­beyond its banks, engulfing large swathes of Windsor on Monday, the focus on Church Street turned to saving number 176.

The property’s owner, Jason Adams, was red-eyed and emotional as neighbours delayed evacuating the flood-ravaged area in order to help out an old mate.

Lyn Brown outside her home on Cox Street in Windsor. Picture: John Feder

“We are in the firing line,” Mr Adams said, as he fought back the tears. “This is our home of 30 years, and we are about to lose it all. We couldn’t sleep a wink last night.”

In Windsor, flooding is a fact of life. The Hawkesbury river rose to 13m in 1990, while in the floods of 1961 it climbed to a then record 15m. This time around, the river could peak at 16m on Tuesday.

And while the estimated 700 residents who live on Church Street have weathered the devastation wrought by floods before, they concede this one is different.

 

“It’s a lot worse than what we experienced during the 1990 flood,” said Vickie Leland, as she watched her son’s Holden Commodore vanish beneath the swirling dirty brown water. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Allan Lavendar, who spent Monday ferrying sandbags to homes on the verge of being wiped out, said it was a “catastrophe” for the tight-knit community.

“But that’s why we are here,” said Allan’s brother Shane, as he trudged barefoot through waist-deep water. “We live at the top of the street, but we can’t leave without doing everything we can to help out,” he said.

Police help farmers herd cattle to safety in nearby Richmond. Picture: John Grainger

Gladys Berejiklian on Monday said some 15,000 people had been evacuated from their homes on the state’s north coast and another 3000 in Sydney’s northwest.

Residents in western Sydney were given middle-of-the-night evacuation orders on Sunday, as rivers threatened to burst their banks. At 3pm on Monday, the power went out on Church Street.

 

“With the electricity off, many residents are now deciding to evacuate,” said Nanette Cooper.

“We’re packed and ready to go if we need to.”

At nearby Cox Street, Lyn Brown is on the frontline of the ­rising floodwaters. Waves of ­potentially contaminated water lapped at her front door on Monday, carrying rubbish across her garage floor.

Submerged cars line a normally busy road.

“We’ve moved everything onto milk crates, including our beds,” she said.

“We’ve even got the mattresses on top of the dining table.”

Closer to the Windsor CBD, naturopath Kelly Miller could only watch as the water reached her clinic’s front step, a 100-year-old property that could be underwater by Tuesday.

 

While more than 130 people were rescued from floodwaters across NSW on Monday, one of Church Street’s youngest residents, Chloe Panman, was busy staging a rescue of her own.

“Our backyard is completely under after,” the 13-year-old said, as she climbed into a tiny bright green kayak.

“I’ll need to use the kayak to check that our rabbit, Buck, is still safe on top of the ­garage.”