Sheena Jensen loses everything in Gympie flood of 2022

A Gympie couple and their four children – like so many others – were caught completely by surprise at the speed and height of the flood, escaping rising waters with just the clothes on their back. Now, they’re surveying the damage.

The February 2022 flood was unlike anything anyone in the Gympie region had seen.

It eclipsed the height of Gympie’s third worst flood in history, set in 1999, and then its second worst flood in history, set in 1898.

Overnight, bridges were cut and the commercial hub inundated by a relentless Mary River, taking everyone by surprise despite days of torrential rain – everybody knew a flood was coming, they just didn’t expect it to happen that quickly or go that high.

As the river headed to its peak of 22.96m late on Saturday, February 26, the Gympie regional disaster team scrambled to evacuate more than 700 homes in the flood’s path. Days later, nobody has been able to confirm just how many homes went under; the estimate has been as high as 1500 across the entire region.

Five thousand homes lost power as the water rose, and some remained without power for five days. Thousands also lost internet service, and were cut off from shops by the spreading water. Food drops were carried out across the region to multiple families.

Two Gympie region men and a women died in the flash flooding that preceded the river’s massive rise. Many business owners were trapped and unable to empty their buildings in time.

Empire Hotel Owner Craig Mylrea, who lives above the Upper Mary St pub, was trapped with his son in complete darkness as he watched helpless as the floodwaters destroyed his business.

Empire Hotel owner Craig Mylrea (left) and his son Zane Mylrea (right) were trapped above their business in complete darkness with food running low as the pub below went under.

Gympie mother Sheena Jensen was forced to watch as her Ashford Rd home of nearly six years was swallowed by floodwaters.

Ms Jensen’s eldest daughter, Jasmine Whiting, recounted what happened to the house that was home to six people, including four children.

It all started on Wednesday morning, when talk began in earnest about a possible Gympie flood.

Despite the family home lying directly in a flood zone, Miss Whiting said the family initially was not concerned.

“The house is going under”: Jasmine Whiting witnessed her mother’s home swallowed whole by flood waters, which slowly crept towards the roof on Friday morning.

But a phone call from their property manager on Thursday quickly turned the threat into a reality.

“(Mum) called me and said: ‘the real estate has called me. They need us to get out of the house because the house is going under,” she said.

Suddenly realising the danger they were in, Miss Whiting spent that night helping her family stack furniture as high as possible before evacuating everyone to her own home, which was high and dry.

That night, the flood waters were lapping the back steps at Ashford Road, but Miss Whiting said still thought it would not go any higher.

They planned to return with a truck the next day to remove all the furniture and whatever else they could save. But by 2am the next day, the house was almost completely underwater.

Water was creeping towards the roof.

Once the flood waters had receded and the damage could be assessed, Jasmine Whiting said her mother broke down in tears at the sight of what remained of their home. Photo: Contributed

Even in complete darkness after the power had gone, it was clear the house, which was on stilts, had disappeared beneath the muddy waters.

“We were gobsmacked … we were like ‘no way has that risen so quickly’,” she said.

In a desperate bid to save what she could, Ms Jensen tried to swim into the family home, but could not get inside.

“She broke down in tears,” Miss Whiting said.

“I just held her. I didn’t know what to do. I was just imagining the mess that was inside.

“This has just broken her.”

“Everything looks like it’s been picked up and smashed against the floor”: Jasmine Whiting said all the furniture left inside the flooded home was not salvageable after the flood. Photo: Contributed

Miss Whiting said Ms Jensen went back to check their home three times a day, every day until they could safely get inside, assess the damage and start the clean-up.

That day came on Monday, February 28. The house was of course a war zone.

“Everything looks like it’s been picked up and smashed against the floor,” she said.

The interior had been ripped apart, with a collapsed ceiling in the kitchen, smashed light fixtures, warped and broken ceiling fans and swollen water bubbles across the walls.

Miss Whiting said the toilet had “exploded”, with a vile concoction of sewage, debris and insects throughout their home.

“The house was unrecognisable. It won’t be liveable for six months,” Miss Whiting said.

“My mum has been trying to salvage what she can, but there is nothing left.

Despite the damage, Jasmine Whiting said she and her family were so grateful to every person who donated clothes or furniture after they lost everything. Photo: Contributed

“There’s been so many memories in this house … and now its gone.”

Despite all this, the family has been trying to help other families of Ashford Road, even though they had nothing but the clothes on their back.

Miss Whiting said she was desperate to help her family back on their feet, and started a GoFundMe to support her mother.

Additionally, strangers and neighbours from all over Gympie were showing up on their doorstep to donate clothes and furniture and to lend a hand where it was needed; something Miss Whiting said was “amazing”.

“When my mum was cleaning all of her stuff up, we had randoms turn up with trailers saying ‘hey, we’ll take some of this stuff to the dump for you’,” she said.

“There have been hundreds and hundreds of people who have helped and it’s just been so amazing.”

For now, Ms Jensen, her partner Matthew Morrison and her four children aged between 18 years and seven months, are living with Miss Whiting until their home is habitable again.

“We’ve got 12 people in a three-bedroom house at the moment … it’s pretty full on, but we’re doing what we can,” she said.

The GoFundMe had raised $2340 by Friday afternoon.

Click here to donate

Originally published as Sheena Jensen loses everything in Gympie flood of 2022