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The storm has subsided, but much of the low-lying areas near rivers in Australia’s New South Wales will remain underwater for a long time. – You feel a little numb, says Kevin Stevenson, who now has to take a boat to get home.
A child kayaking across a road in Windsor, New South Wales.
The map and reality do not match. What should be fields, roads and buildings is instead a large lake. The Hawkesbury River northwest of Sydney has risen in just a few days almost 13 meters above its normal levels, drowning the surrounding lowland area in water.
Kevin Stevenson arrives humming a bale of hay in his motorboat in Richmond, adding where the road and water meet. He normally lives on a knoll in the Richmond lowlands, a good distance from the river. Today, his home is on an island, surrounded by hundreds of meters of water.
– But if the water does not rise, it must go by the way of the house, says.
Getting ashore with the little motorboat takes half an hour, he says. Drive on the road covered in water. That way, you can be pretty sure not to bump into anything. And even if the road is no longer visible under the bodies of water, the power poles that still protrude from the surface reveal where the edge of the road is going.
When asked if he has ever experienced something like this, he shakes his head.
– But the neighbor said the flood in 1961 was probably worse. I thought you had experienced flooding before. But I didn’t have that. This is a flood, says Kevin Stevenson.
Hawkesbury runs through Richmond and the neighboring community of Windsor in the state of New South Wales. The bridges in both communities are completely flooded after several days of persistent rain.
Food giant Coles has airlifted food to fill the store’s shelves in North Richmond.
In Windsor, the SES rescue service is constantly working to load small boats with medical supplies, to transport them across the river to those in need on the north side.
– There has been a lot to do, says Operations Manager Lachlan Wykes.
In addition to transporting goods, SES staff and volunteers have participated in evacuations and rescue operations.
– At present, it is mainly about evacuating people and animals that are trapped in houses by boat, he says.
A lifeboat with evacuees on board capsized in the Colo River, but all those on board were able to be rescued. The rain has also receded, at least temporarily, and the sun is shining over parts of New South Wales.
– It means that rescue efforts are a bit easier, but it also means that it is a day to get supplies, says the prime minister of the state, Gladys Berejiklian, in a press conference.
Some 11,000 emergency calls have been made. On Wednesday, the first death was reported, when a body was found in a car in the river water, according to Berejiklian.
Jesse Knibbs often lives next to a lush park in Windsor. Now a kayak floats in your garden. It would be necessary if he wants to reach some neighbors. Outside the front door, sandbags are lined up, and so far the house seems to have survived undamaged after all.
– This weekend the water started to rise. During the night, the park and the garden were filled with water, he says.
– I did not believe in that (that the water rises so much), so I did nothing to prepare myself. This is my first flood so I’ll learn next time.
Things have been worse for Rachel Dalrymple in Bligh Park. There, the water has entered the house on the ground floor and entered the garage. When it comes to the family stable, home to 18 horses, only the roof can be seen sticking out of the water’s surface.
– It is quite incredible that the water is so high, he says.
The family was able to quickly bring the horses to the safety of friends and acquaintances.
– Everything happened during the night, and waking up and seeing everything so flooded was crazy.
It is difficult to say how great the damage has been. Like many others, the family lacks flood insurance.
– I think that this insurance would cost more than 30,000 dollars (200,000 crowns). And how great is the risk really? We should try to save what we can, says Rachel Dalrymple.
The floods in Australia
Parts of Australia’s New South Wales state have been hit by flooding from several days of heavy rain, on land that is already relatively saturated after a wet summer.
The most affected areas have received almost a meter of rain in a few days.
Several river systems have been flooded, in some places the water levels are between 10 and 15 meters above normal, the highest in 50 years and in some places in 100 years.
At least 24,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and many of those who may remain lack electricity and clean water.
The SES rescue service has received 11,000 emergency calls and has evacuated or rescued 950 people.
