The Flood.

The Flood

22.1.24

A Personal account of my experience - please note this was a non life threatening situation and we simply opted to prepare for the worst rather than take our chances with animals and assets.

I listened to the rain on our tin roof, Jordan had already gotten up with the kids but I opted to lie in a little longer and enjoy the sound of relief.

Jordan came through the door asking if i'd seen a FB post showing images of Inverway Station upstream from us flooded, I hadn't reached for my phone yet as I was enjoying languishing.

I grumpily reached for it and you'd think i'd been struck by lightning.

It looked like a river, images showing water through buildings that morning. Throwing clothes on as quickly as I could, I choked down a bit of toast and left the other piece drying on the bench.

We didn't have to say much to each other except that we knew the Sturt Creek by our house was going to be higher than we had ever seen it and we needed to prepare.

The girls got thrown in front of a movie in the station kitchen as I moved to consolidate food into a single fridge and two freezers. If we lost power the portable generator would have to run as little as possible.

I carted extra supplies home, put washing in my machine, charged my Dyson and charged up Milwaukee batteries for portable fans & a light. I cleared anything off the lawns that could be swept away. It might seem strange to do normal house hold jobs but after days of rain my laundry floor was invisible under the dirty clothes and my floor a mess from kids being inside - I didn't know if we would be without power and if so for how long.

Jordan and Bruce worked on preparing generators and fuel, moving fridges and getting blocks ready in case we had to raise things up higher.

Midday came around quickly and the water was still creeping ever higher, my stomach had been in anxious knots all morning watching it each time I went outside.

Relieved I could get the kids down for a sleep and get stuck in helping Jordan and Bruce that was not to be.

Ruby has always been sensitive to stress and refused to sleep, so putting yet another movie on and leaving her with snacks I raced off to move a vehicle.

The amount of water at this point shocked me, the speed and depth of it wasn't what I expected at all.

I realised half of our horses were across the water on high ground and the other half were in the compound, our mares and foals standing in the horse yards to keep their feet dry. We needed to move them asap.

Dashing back to the house Ruby had woken Della and I felt my stress levels sky rocket. Movies, snacks, water and a serious chat about not leaving the house I explained I had to help dad move some horses - I would be back soon and I locked the doors.

I strapped a two way on and took off.

Pushing the horses across the water wasn't too bad, they went happily enough, for these guys it was only up to their belly's. It was probably refreshing for them, December had been brutal with temperatures in the 40's most days.

It was however to deep for the quad bike by my judgement, not to mention I had Jordan's voice in my head 'Don't drown the bike'.

Jordan was still busy with Bruce so I grabbed a stockwhip, a couple of halters and a nosebag thinking they will either follow or i'll drive them to the cattle yards.

I kicked my crocs off at the waters edge concerned i'd lose them, I picked a path to walk through the water in an area I knew to be relatively clear of termite mounds and sticks and I used the pickets as a guide to water depth and off I went.

Rain started to fall again and my relief from this morning had turned to fear.

Although not exceptionally deep the sheer amount of water around us was unfathomable and I didn't know how much more rain we could take.

The horses didn't want to move when the rain came in, turning their backs to it and stubbornly standing in the water I tried to get them to follow the leader George who is usually the boss but the rain couldn't even make them interested in the nosebag.

As I let George go to start plan B I heard a Toyota come through the water, motorbike on the back, Jordan pulled it off like it was a feather, he yelled he had to go sort some gates and he roared off.

I stood then, waiting in the rain for what felt like hours.

I knew he couldn't be far so cracked the whip to push the horses onto dry ground where Jordan could move them with the motorbike. The bastards went into the scrub and while I cursed at least they were on dry ground. Jordan raced back through the rain, it was pelting his face so hard making him squint I yelled and jumped at him to get his attention.

He got behind the horses and sent them the direction of the yards. Part 1 accomplished, I went as quick as I could back through the water to catch the mares and foals.

The two mares with foals afoot that were big and healthy crossed without any mishap, it was however a slow walk to get them to the cattle yards. One mare walking right by me the other I had to drag along while Jordan ran to get the motorbike to pick me up from the yards and get back to the waters edge where we had to cross on foot to get back to the horse yards.

The water was now at the bottom of the gates going into the yard cooler and my stomach knotted tighter.

Checking in with Ruby on the two way throughout this she filled me in they were ok, pride and guilt mixed with stress made for an unusual adrenaline rush. Every sense was heightened.

By this time Bruce had gone to the house to sit with the kids, and I was so thankful - they were alone briefly.

Crossing the water for the 4th time I was worried about the 3 day old foal we still had to cross. The water was flowing fast and getting wider and deeper by the minute. The foal was exhausted having been born in wet weather, even stabled there wasn't much dry ground for her to lay down and sleep.

I led the mare and Jordan haltered the foal, not an ideal argument to have with a foal when time is everything.

He carried her across, resting her in the water every 10 metres or so to catch his breath, she could stand but we didn't know if she'd get to other side on her own and so we struggled in this fashion until we were clear.

As we shut the gate behind the last of horses all now on high ground I felt I needed to get home now as fast as I could. It was 3.30pm, i'd been gone for a couple of hours and I looked down and realised I was still bare foot and my feet were a bit tender from kms of walking.

We both climbed onto the quad bike and between the horse yards and gates into the compound there was another lot of fast flowing water to contend with but we managed to get the bike through. I can tell you I didn't fancy walking again at this point even with my crocs restored. The speed of this water totally flattened the fence in it's path, which we discovered days later.

At home I was greeted with the kids dressed up and laughing, house destroyed and old Bruce just sat calmly not phased and in that moment the mess they had made didn't matter at all because they were happy and unaffected by the chaos around them.

We had a quick look and judged we had maybe an hour left of power and so I cooked everyone bacon and eggs at 4 o'clock. We hadn't eaten a thing or drank any water, Jordan thought it was only 11am time was so distorted.

The rest of the afternoon was spent setting up extension leads and moving a few more things around, I sorted our office out so we could camp in that for the night. For those that don't like box air con units when you have to run off a generator having one of these was a lifesaver.

Before the sun went down I took the kids for a look at the 'sea' that now surrounded us. The sun came out and a rainbow broke over the sky. I told the kids they were pirates and that we were going to have a fun sleep over in the office with two minute noodles on the menu for dinner. They thought it was the best!

There's a couple of things I have taken away from this experience.

We knew we weren't in danger, well as much as you can know in something like this which is why I opted to stay and help rather than fly the kids and I out.

• My husband is extraordinary in his capabilities, capacity to think and be calm. He's also strong enough to carry a foal through water.
• Ruby is more switched on than I knew, I am so proud of her and Della.
• My family will always come before anything else.
• Move the animals first, not last because you don't have as much time as you think.
• There is beauty in every storm.
• I am resourceful, stubborn and I have tough feet!

We are given hard tasks in life that test us but maybe they guide us too, they may break down some relationships but build others. As a family unit we are stronger than before and while there is work to do ahead of us I know I will look back at this day and I will struggle to remember the details and timeline of the day but the experience will stay with me for life.

GP.

P.S No livestock was lost, all animals are moved out of the flood out country prior to the wet season

P.P.S For those interested scroll down for some rainfall info