Sitting tight and listening to the rain outside, I was glad I had been to Alluvial Gallery on Friday afternoon to help clear out the last few things. Floodwater was through the skate park and if it didn’t flood the gallery, it would be a good drill.

Later that night and into the next day the rain was relentless. Facebook group “When Gympie Floods” was reporting high floods but nothing was going to prepare me for the days ahead.

Driving around Gympie it was unbelievable. Flooded water made neighbourhood roads unpassable.

On Sunday afternoon my partner Keith and I were in our studio, when I had an overwhelming feeling that we should pop into the Evacuation Centre.

When we arrived, there was a calmness and surrendering around the place with people watching TV, playing games, lying on mattresses on their phones, chatting and generally biding their time and waiting it out. The highway was cut in several places, the flood height was rising and no one was going anywhere.

There were kids running around and I asked if there was anything we could do to help. It was suggested we could do some art activities, so we gathered some bits and pieces and went back, much to their delight.

I asked if there was anyone they thought could do with a bed in a home and two elderly people were suggested. I went to chat to one person who was lying on her bed and put forward my offer. She said she would think about it and would make up her mind when I returned in the morning.

The next day, Monday 28 February, when I returned her washing, she was almost packed ready to leave! The water had receded a bit around One Mile, so Keith and I took Janice to her home. I looked up at her high set house and could see where the water level had been – right up to the middle of the windows – a full 6m off the ground. Unbelievable!

Her house was in complete disarray. All her belongings were everywhere. The furniture had been lifted up by the water and moved around then placed in completely different places. Janice slowly walked around her home, bewildered at what she saw. It was heartbreaking. Everything was sodden, wet and muddy, her bed, lounge, wardrobes full of clothes – everything. The floor was incredibly slippery and the stench of ‘Mary Mud’ everywhere.

Janice was worried about her cat “Megs”. We were reassured to find many little paw prints in the silt throughout the house. I had a picture of the poor cat, jumping from high place to high place while the house filled with water. Janice couldn’t take the cat when she had to be evacuated on Friday night by SES crew as the water rose.

We found Megs huddled under a wardrobe and I gently coaxed him out.

Janice was physically and emotionally exhausted and needed to rest. The water had receded enough to get into Alluvial Gallery to begin the clean-up. As I arrived, the realisation of the event was evident. The entire building had been submerged in floodwater and the suspended ceiling panels had collapsed and turned into soggy mush. Three of us slowly removed the panels one by one, along with damaged ceiling structure, lighting tracks and all the fluro lights. There was mud everywhere, all over desks, carpet, walls. Later the SES arrived with their big pressure hoses and washed it all down as we pushed the muck out the doors.

As the day progressed people came to help, strangers who were simply lending a hand. The team grew and after a huge day there was still more work to be done. We wearily ventured home covered in mud!
Janice was up when I got home and we sat on the deck chatting, getting to know each other while the storms rumbled around us. Not long before, Janice had been a complete stranger, but somehow, I felt like I knew her, like our destinies were meant to collide.

The next day 83 year old Janice was very tired. She stayed at home while we went to her house. I put a call out on Facebook for help and people to wash her clothes. I was overwhelmed at the response. Lots of people came either bringing a washing basket to take wet and muddy clothes away, dropping off cleaning equipment or generally helping. At one stage I thought everyone must be hungry, so I rang around for food and just as I got off the phone a lovely woman and her two boys fortuitously arrived at the door with welcome fruit and sandwiches!

Teams of people arrived to help move furniture onto Janice’s verandah, people were packing boxes with her possessions. I was so concerned that we did not simply throw everything out. I wanted Janice to have the last say on what she wanted to keep, even if it was too damaged, I wanted her to make that call. These things were her life, all her photos, paperwork, trinkets, drawers full of personal things. All of these things were wet, but they were hers.

A lovely young girl helped me pack my car with a whole lot of boxes. She said she had been at the supermarket and saw my Facebook post and thought “I’m going to go and help these people”!

That night it looked like rain again, so we covered everything on the verandah with a tarp and hoped for the best.

Following days were occupied by sorting, cleaning, and yet more cleaning. A couple arrived with their gurney and hosed out the entire empty house. A volunteer food van was set up on the street for a welcome cuppa and break. People arrived at the door with cakes and refreshments.

The community rallied around us, as Gympie realised what had happened and stories unfolded.

I was reassured by the generosity, love and care of people and local businesses who simply gave their time to help, and I thank these people, some of whom I know so well, and others I will probably never see again.

Janice is now back in her home with more help of her interstate family. She is one of the lucky ones.

Article by Sandra Ross