A family have lost their home for the second time within four years just weeks after losing their mum to cancer.
Deadly flooding has left a mammoth clean-up task after lashing parts of NSW, resulting in five deaths, damaging up to 10,000 properties and cutting off tens of thousands of people in regional towns
Daniel Fitzgerald slept in his car for five days, watching helplessly as floodwaters slowly destroyed everything inside his home for the second time.
The deluge did not spare Mr Fitzgerald’s home at Taree, on the NSW Mid North Coast, which he shares with his four children and brother Michael Forbes, who has a disability.
Water lapped the front of the old weatherboard house before inundating the property, forcing Mr Fitzgerald to wade through waist-deep waters to survey the devastation.
The brothers were already mourning their mother, who lost her battle with cancer in April
‘I was devastated – there’s nothing you can do. You can’t stop water,’ Mr Fitzgerald told AAP
‘It’s just like losing my mother all over again. It’s heartbreaking.’
Brothers Andrew Fitzgerald, Michael Forbes and Daniel Fitzgerald with their late mum Amanda Forbes, who died in April
It’s the second time in four years Daniel Fitzgerald’s home has been flooded
Furniture, clothes and kids’ toys were destroyed but losing precious mementos to the floods – including USB sticks containing family photos and videos – was devastating.
‘We didn’t have time (to prepare). I got some clothes out but that’s it,’ Ms Fitzgerald said.
The family expects it will cost more than $150,000 to replace the damaged goods, while Mr Forbes, a keen vinyl, comic book and DVD collector, lost up to $100,000 in items.
The destruction brought back unwanted memories from four years earlier, when their home last flooded.
‘The first time we had insurance and it took them over two years to repair the place,’ Mr Fitzgerald said.
‘It was stressful the whole way through just trying to get them to do anything, even though we paid insurance for years.’
This time, there’s no insurance policy to fall back on.
The family’s previous insurer refused to cover them again, while others had unaffordable prices of up to $15,000 that did not cover flood damage, Mr Fitzgerald said.
Daniel Fitzgerald’s Taree home was not insured for flood damage
The family expects it will cost more than $150,000 to replace their damaged belongings
Family friend Sharon Revell organised a GoFundMe to help the family get back on its feet.
‘Seeing them go through the loss of (their mother) and then this so soon after, they haven’t had time to grieve,’ she said.
‘The last flood was a one-in-100-year flood and this flood is a one-in-500-year flood four years later.’
Kempsey Shire mayor Kinne Ring, whose council covers parts of the mid-north coast, said insurance premiums had skyrocketed with recent floods and bushfires.
‘For many, it’s unaffordable or they live in locations where you actually can’t get insurance,’ she said.
‘All of these things create enormous financial and emotional stress that makes this flood even more difficult to come back from.’
More challenging weather conditions lie ahead for crews battling to protect coastal regions stricken by floods.
Recovery efforts are under way in flood-affected communities along the NSW coast with the damage expected to take weeks to clean up.
The town of Taree was one of the hardest hit areas by the recent NSW flood crisis
At least 10,000 properties have been damaged by deadly floods as the massive clean-up effort begins. Pictured is a home in Taree
Floodwaters are receding and all emergency flood warnings have been downgraded, though more than 100 warnings remain.
More than 32,000 people remain isolated by floodwaters and about 400 properties have been deemed inhabitable or destroyed, according to the NSW State Emergency Service.
More rain and strong winds are expected to impact recovery efforts with a risk of landslides and toppling trees in coming days.
Jonathan How from the Bureau of Meteorology said strong winds coming through on Monday and Tuesday could hamper recovery efforts.
‘We’re talking about winds of 60-80km/h, which could cause a lot of damage for a lot of trees coming down,’ he said.
Premier Chris Minns visited Taree and said the state government wants to help the community get back on its feet as soon as possible.
Hardship and disaster grants are planned to become available in the coming days and efforts to improve flood resilience in Taree and other communities will follow.
But previous attempts, while well intentioned, had not always delivered in areas hit by flooding.
‘We’re determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past, given we’re having more and more of these natural disasters,’ Minns said.
