By Andrew Drummond
FOR the thousands of people who live along the Clarence River in northern NSW, floods are part of life.
Folk here remain nonchalant even though about 3000 people were forced to leave their homes yesterday. In fact, they’re more worried about their neighbours to the north.
”I was struck by the resilience of this community but also their generosity, that in their own time of need their thoughts were turning northwards to what is an unimaginable situation,” NSW Premier Kristina Keneally said from the flood-stricken community of Grafton.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Crowds gathered at Grafton’s Memorial Park about midday to see the river reach 7.6 metres, just 40 centimetres below the top of the levee.
Ms Keneally visited the city as, across the state’s north, more than 3100 people were issued with evacuation orders. More than 2000 of them come from Ulmarra, Brushgrove and Cowper, along the Clarence River near Grafton. The remainder, some 850 people, have been asked to leave their homes at Boggabilla and Toomelah. Another 8500 people have been cut off by floodwater.
”It’s still a very serious flood situation in our state with so many people both evacuated and isolated,” SES spokesman Phil Campbell said.
”[But] at this stage, everything is very much in control in NSW. We’re certainly in a better condition than our cousins up in Queensland.”
The Premier’s visit included a flight over Grafton and then north to Maclean, where several roads are cut and residents are on standby to be evacuated. At Lawrence, about 25 kilometres north-east of Grafton, rooftops bore the only signs of life.
The Pacific Highway is cut at several locations by the flooded Clarence, leaving motorists with nowhere to go.
Livestock huddle on high peaks at dairy farms north of Grafton as hay bales float past.
Rain in the region is forecast to continue into March, SES Commissioner Murray Kear said.
Following the rescue of two youths from the Clarence River on Wednesday morning, Mr Kear again urged people not to enter floodwaters: ”No matter how experienced you think you are in a local community, never drive, ride or walk through floodwater. That’s where the majority of flood rescues are done, that’s where I put my volunteers at risk by going out and having to rescue people that have ignored that advice.”
Property owner Geoff Ottaway, who has left his home some 2 kilometres from Grafton, is just happy to be out.
”I picked up everything yesterday and just went home this morning to drive the tractor down the road out of harm,” he said. ”It won’t flood there until tomorrow but I’d rather be out of it.”
Source: www.smh.com.au
