SE QLD & NSW Floods Feb/Mar 2022

I’m sure this is not news to many of you, but SE QLD and Northern NSW have gone through some horrific floods over the last week. I, like many of you, have been severely affected. Mother Nature can sure be a cruel bitch sometimes.

Today, I’ll tell a little story about our ordeal and let you know about the current options for assistance.

A story about floods and sharks.

It had been raining Friday and Saturday, but we didn’t think too much of it. Our 2.5-year-old son Nikita always sleeps so well when it rains overnight. I woke up Sunday morning and went outside with Nikita and was gobsmacked by the amount of water flooding the Breakfast Creek Hotel Carpark and the road in front of us. The driveway was blocked entirely. I woke my Fiancé, Dasha, up and showed her. We were in complete shock, as were most of our neighbours.

We went downstairs and started chatting to others about options. We were told the other street out was even worse. We headed over to take a look, and as we popped our heads over the fence, we could only see the tops of cars/vans. The water would have been at least chest depth for me. That was not an option.

Everybody’s cars and other belongings are stored in the underground carpark. I park my motorbike in the lowest corner out of the way of vehicles. It already had water up to mid wheel when I went down there. So I moved it up next to our car about 50m away. Our neighbours had told us how far the water came up the carpark in the 2011 floods and if we moved it there it should be fine…

The day went on, and everyone would routinely go down and move their cars up a few inches whenever we could. It was pretty well-coordinated, considering! By 6 pm that night, I moved our car up as far as I could and my bike (which was blocked by other parked cars). I went down to the carpark as the water had come rushing in at a frantic pace. I spotted three fire doors that had split in half, and a roller door bent backwards from the pressure of the water. These four waterfalls were gushing water in at an alarming rate. It was fortunate that everyone had moved their cars past the second security gate as this would no longer function.

I said goodbye to our little Kia and my pride and joy, Yamaha MT09. Then, I went back up the stairs (9 flights about a million times that day) to join my neighbours who were celebrating a birthday on this extraordinary occasion.

The tide was peaking around 8 pm, so we knew it would get worse. But there was nothing more we could do so we all decided to have a great time instead of worrying about everything we could not control.

The next morning…

It was an eerie feeling. I walked down the stairs to see the damage. I looked where I had left my bike, and I couldn’t see it? I then kept looking and spotted it squished in between some cars on a little higher ground! Some angel had moved it further for me, and as far as I knew, it “may” be ok.

I looked down the ramp and thought I spotted our Kia. Boot open, floating up extremely close to the garage door. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Dasha told me that it wasn’t even our car! That was a silver car also that was parked in front of ours. It had floated up and was parked on the bonnet of our Kia. The Kia was submerged except for the roof! The only things I could save from the car were Nikita’s bike and scooter. “Santa” and I put these together for last Xmas, and mother nature was not taking these anytime soon!

I’ve probably blabbered on too long by now! So I’ll cut it short.

We lost power for four days.

There was a bull shark in our street.

We lost some material possessions. (but saved the sentimental ones)

We are all safe.

We came together as a family and as a community when needed.

There are thousands of other people out there who copped it so much worse than us that I feel somewhat helpless to do anything about it.

The actual accounting and finance stuff is here.

Emergency hardship assistance

The Emergency Hardship Assistance Grant is available as a contribution to support people directly impacted by a disaster to who are unable to meet their immediate essential needs for food, clothing, medical supplies or temporary accommodation.

 

If deemed eligible, applicants may receive $180 per person up to $900 for a family of 5 or more. The grant is initially available to claim for 7 days following the activation of the grant in your area. Emergency Hardship Assistance is not income or asset tested. 

 

For more information about eligibility criteria or to apply, visit the Community Recovery website or call 1800 173 349.

Disaster recovery payments

The federal government has activated the Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) of $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child to those in affected local government areas who have suffered a significant loss, including a severely damaged or destroyed home, or serious injury. The Disaster Recovery Payment is not income or asset tested.

The Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) will also be available to residents of some affected local government areas, providing up to 13 weeks payment to cover loss of income as a direct result of the disaster.

 

For more information about Commonwealth support, please visit the Services Australia website or call 180 22 66.

ATO Relief

Details of the ATO relief measures can be found here. This is updated regularly and is typically on a case by case basis.

Banks and other financial institutions

They have various measures in place ranging from payment arrangements, deferral of repayments, waiving fees, concessional loans etc. If you use a broker, we would suggest contacting them to see your options. If not, please get in touch with your bank/financier.

QLD Rural and Industry Development Authority

Although nothing is official on their website, QRIDA will likely offer support through loans and grants as they have done for other natural disasters and COVID. Please keep an eye on their website for updates here.

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