Left in the dark and surrounded by water: Dalby residents plead for assistance

‘People are talking about leaving town’: Residents of Dalby who were stranded in their homes in the dark of night and surrounded by raging floodwaters are begging for a helping hand in dealing with the aftermath.

Dalby residents frustrated with repeated flooding are contemplating leaving town, as the community rallies to clean-up after the most recent disaster.

Myall Creek reached major flood levels this week, with widespread floodwaters inundating houses and yards.

Dalby couple Robyn and Wayne Rose have lived in the town for 42 years, and say people are pushed to their limits after having to constantly weather the storm of Myall Creek spilling into the streets.

“People are talking about leaving town because they’re over it,”Ms Rose said.

The couple are just two the many who have begun the long clean up after this week’s major flood event.

Ms Rose said although they have endured many floods, this time they were stranded in their homes without power and surrounded by rapidly rising waters.

The power on Wood Street was turned off at 7:15pm Monday night and turned back on 3pm Tuesday.

“They didn’t give us any warning, we were having dinner and then all of a sudden, pitch black,” Ms Rose said.

Robyn and Wayne Rose clean up after the Dalby floods, March 2022 Picture: Emily Devon

Ms Rose said that her neighbours next door were warned there would be a power outage, and when they had asked if they could have 20 minutes to organise things, they were told no and it was immediate.

“I can understand the dangers of low-lying homes if they got inundated, but we’re up high,” Ms Rose said.
The Roses and their son, Shane spent Wednesday cleaning up the front yard that has once again been stripped back by unrelenting floodwaters.

“I’d appreciate the council offer some sort of help. Top soil would for sure help, all of my driveway has layers washed off with each flood,” she said.

They also suggested Western Downs Council look into dredging of Myall Creek.

Scott Hornick cleans up his front yard after the Dalby floods, March 2022 Picture: Emily Devon

“There’s so much debris that’s come down over the years due to floodwaters, they keep saying it’s natural but it’s not. I’m not saying it’s going to stop all of these floods together but it’ll stop the little ones if we can get some depth in the creek,” Ms Rose added.

The Roses’ neighbour Scott Hornick raised his family home himself to protect from future flooding, but he still spent half a day using an industrial hose to clean the dirt and debris from his yard.

Resident Amanda Seigmeier said the clean-up after a flood was brutal.

“The water’s never been in the house ever, but it kills the grass, it kills everything if we don’t hose it off,” she said.

The fence on the corner of Matheson and James Street in Dalby filled with debris from floodwaters March 29, 2022 Picture: Emily Devon

She said flooding had been intensifying and something needed to be done to slow the devastation.

“I know that there are people who have never had floodwater in their streets and are now getting it,” she said.

The family’s Branch Creek Road home has a large body of water that builds up at the front during flooding, which they say is due to lack of gutter and curbing structure at the front.

Margaret Pearson, who has lived on Matheson Street for 30 years and has experienced a number of floods in Dalby, and has been demanding solutions for a long time.

She said during the last recent floods she’d asked someone from the council to help collect debris from her home she’d piled in front of the house, but no one ever showed up.

Originally published as Left in the dark and surrounded by water: Dalby residents plead for assistance