Bundaberg community remembers their 2013 flood experiences

As we look to the end of Bundaberg’s driest year on record, the NewsMail asked the community about their experiences during a year that wasn’t so dry.

Provided there isn't a torrential downpour tomorrow, this year has been Bundaberg's driest since at least 1902.

But that hasn't always been our end-of-year experience.

It has been nearly seven years since Cyclone Oswald formed on January 21, 2013 in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The rain that came with it resulted in the worst flooding Bundaberg has endured.

The 2013 floods stick in the minds of everyone who lived through them in Bundaberg.

Last week we asked the community about their experiences and what they remembered about the disaster.

 

The displacement

The displaced houses and the huge scours in Kolan and Queen streets.

The shock and trauma on the faces of not only the victims but the mud army who turned up to assist.

- Jon Carman

New tenants

The cows who took refuge on the back veranda of this house in Pine Creek.

They eventually broke through the sliding glass door and got into the house.

- Marteen Ellis

Community Spirit

Just moving into a house 11 days earlier and 37 weeks pregnant then hearing the roaring of the water down the road and being evacuated, having strangers going from house to house getting everyone's stuff either out their house or moving it up stairs.

The community spirit of everyone helping out.

- Juanita Bacon

Twisters and airdrops

Australia Day or thereabouts … the twister going through Avondale, town being cut off when the bridges blew out, the Hercules delivering medicine to rural areas, fuel and food shortage, friends fishing (and catching fish) off their balconies, Yandaran crossroads completely under, no power or phone for over a week for some people.

- Krystal Micak

 

2013 floods

The generosity

I took an elderly lady in for the night who's house got flooded over east.

A couple of weeks later she came to my house and dropped off all of these beautiful baby clothes that she had bought for my daughter that I was heavily pregnant with.

I can't remember her name, but I think of her often.

- Kristy Brown

The little things

All the beautiful biscuits the CWA and others made for those cleaning homes.

- Judith Hopwood

The destruction

Hearing the hole in the bridge happen, it sounded like a jet engine going off.

- Wendy Klein

New friends and family

Joe, who came to live with us when his house flooded in Sussex St.

He is now a part of our family.

- Bronnie Durston

Staying above the waterline

How slowly the water rose in comparison to how it left.

Raising everything in the house on brick after brick to get it higher while we lost everything in the shed.

I mainly remember that in the greatest times of adversity we stuck together and helped each other.

- Lisa Russell

Losing everything but fruit

Walking into my muddied and flooded home and seeing my bowl of fruit sitting on the muddy floor in my dining room with the fruit in it.

The inside of the bowl was clean and the fruit was fine.

I lost everything in my home, I had 4.5 metres of water through my house.

And the mud army who came to my house, one woman saw me crying over that stupid bowl of fruit and she held me and I cried my eyes out … it was so uplifting seeing complete strangers showing compassion and providing help because they cared.

- Jackie Marshall

 

2013 floods

Left without water at Sharon

We HAD no fresh/filtered water to drink. No power. Our water tank was damaged from the floodwater and (we) had a newborn baby. But we were lucky we had a full gas tank for the BBQ, and we got filtered water for her from a neighbour whose tank was not damaged by floodwater. But no one checked on us, we all helped our neighbours, the best we could.

- Carla Cummings Williams

The fellowship of Bundaberg

Walking over the bridge to check out our house, horrified to see other people's houses in utter devastation, mud everywhere in the house, the crazy/scary rapids of the Burnett River.

Seeing footage of our house under water in a matter of hours, snakes hiding under the fence sheets, the army and the amazing generosity and concern by family, friends, volunteers and strangers.

The people of Bundaberg showed such strength and pulled together to help one another.

- Erin Curtin

The weeks of shovelling mud

THE smell, the deafening roar of the river, the rescue choppers, the Mud Army, family, friends and complete strangers who helped clean up.

Army vehicles driving down my street, driving over the old bridge for the first time, we were allowed back into 'the ­exclusion zone' and seeing the utter devastation.

Houses down sink holes, a fishing trawler on the ­footpath, the piles of cars, ­debris and who knows what else that had been bulldozed to the side of the road to allow us to drive down the streets.

The amount of clean river sand around my house and the neighbourhood with stinking mud right next to it, the days and weeks of shovelling mud and more mud.

- Marika Lynch

 

News CourierMail, 291,2013, Bundaberg, East Bundaberg residents leave as the area continues to flood. Photo Paul Beutel

Playing the waiting game

Working at Sugarland Subway at the time and hearing all the warning reports over the radio throughout the day.

The tornadoes hitting. The storm surges rising over north. The horrible incidents in Bargara. We barricaded the sidewalk doors with towels and bath mats bought in a rush from Big W and they were soaked in seconds due to the horizontal rain!

I remember joking but also half seriously saying to my co-workers that we would lock ourselves in the fridge and freezer stockrooms as they were solid metal and could probably keep us safe if we got blown away too.

I remember having to stay in town at a friend's place with many others, watching the BOM updates on TV and watching people rush in and out as other friends and families' houses started to go under.

I remember calling my parents just after the tornadoes had hit Burnett Heads, our home, and my mother hysterical on the phone, the wind deafening in the background, repeating, "We've been struck!"

I remember finally being able to go home for a brief moment before they shut Burnett Heads off completely.

My home luckily still standing, the vacant block beside us had acted as a wind tunnel and directed the tornado directly past our house, the fence that once stood that side gone without a trace.

I remember our clean-up, and then the waiting game. Waiting for power.

Waiting for updates.

Waiting for it to be over.

I remember watching out into the ocean from our balcony as boat after boat tried desperately to save any others that had been washed downstream. The humidity and smell and mud and sea salt all mixed together and looking up to see the Bundy Belle drifting directly in front of us before the tides taking it out to sea.

I remember taking comfort in our car at night to charge our phones and be in the AC for a few hours before trying to sleep, knowing that we were far luckier than many others.

- Kyle Alla

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