Flood-stricken town pledges survival as locals unite
Dominic Giannini |
Thargomindah is a town fighting for survival but you wouldn’t know it speaking to locals.
While the town’s 220 residents were evacuated closer to the airport as floodwaters rose above seven metres, severely damaging dozens of houses, locals remained optimistic about their recovery.
“I’m up the top there. I paid a bit extra. I beat the mayor up there,” Paul laughed, pointing to the second level of makeshift accommodation he dubbed his penthouse.
Water was above knee-high in his house, but Paul insisted he would be right as he spoke to Nationals leader and local member David Littleproud, who was being shown around town by Mayor John “Tractor” Ferguson.
“They said six to 12 months to fix the houses, but as long as you got a bed and a bit of aircon … we’ll be alright,” he quipped.
Ben covered 50km in his motorised wheelchair in a day with a flashing light on the back of his hat as he went up and down the airfield marshalling supply planes aiding the recovery.
Residents were resilient and were doing alright, although mental health problems would likely follow in the coming months, the mayor said.
The makeshift hospital has moved out of the airport and into demountables but emergency workers are still sleeping in swags on the airport floor.
There’s hope the school will be back up and running when the holidays end just after Easter.
“They’re a pretty tough bloody mob out here,” Mr Ferguson told AAP on Friday.
“There are some people that’s going to affect and another three or four months down the track, that’s when they’ll hit the wall, but there’s going to be plenty of help here for them.”
Kerryanne Fleming was on the verge of tears as she showed Mr Littleproud the damage throughout her house, but said the important thing was no one was killed – and she still had a job.
“I’m a bit upset by everything but what can I do?” she said.
The town needed more housing options as everyone was homeless and only a few people had been able to return to their houses, Ms Fleming said as more temporary housing started to roll in.
Mr Littleproud stopped off in Thargomindah, in his electorate of Maranoa, as he toured regional Australia on the campaign trail ahead of the May 3 federal election.
He pledged to keep the focus on flood-stricken towns around western Queensland as he was updated on the situation.
“The important thing is the world moves on but we can’t forget them,” he said.
“This is going to take years.
“They can’t become the forgotten Australians.”
AAP
