Kyle Smith’s Murray River shack was one of thousands of properties inundated during a major summer flood.
Key points:
- Blanchetown shack owner Kyle Smith says some people are struggling to return to clean up
- Disaster Relief Australia volunteers are coming from across the country to help
- Occupational psychologist Mel Taylor says it can be hard to return to flood-hit properties while juggling insurance claims, work and family
While he said it had been tough spending the past few months cleaning up the devastation at his shack at Blanchetown in South Australia, some of his neighbours have struggled to return to face the clean-up.
“The first time I came back here once the flood subsided, it looked like Gotham City,” he said.
“People are still going through it, our neighbours are saying, ‘Look I’m just not enjoying being up there’.
“There are times I’ve come up on Friday with expectations of being here the weekend.
“Then by Saturday morning I’m packing up and going back to Adelaide.”
Help from far and wide
Downstream in Punyelroo, volunteers from across the country have come together to help clean up the flooded properties.
Disaster Relief Australia volunteer Paul Baldwin is a teacher in Victoria who has taken time off work to support the recovery efforts.
But Mr Baldwin said the floodwaters caused more than just physical damage.
“When we get to speak to the people who are living here, or it’s their holiday house, one of the things that comes up is the memories they have lost,” he said.
“It’s not just about the physical things in their house that have been damaged, they’ve lost the space where they’ve had family dinners or where their kids used to play.”
Mel Taylor, an occupational psychologist and associate professor at Macquarie University, undertook hundreds of surveys from people who experienced major floods in New South Wales and Queensland last year.
She said it was difficult for many people to return to their properties amid juggling things like insurance, work and family.
“There was a time element, things took much longer than people expected,” Dr Taylor said.
“After COVID-19 … there was a lot of uncertainty about whether there was enough money to afford replacements, whether they stay or sell those properties.”
“Some people can deal with that … and others just find it too overwhelming and avoid it, which can add in some ways to that uncertainty.”
But Dr Taylor said many people found comfort in their community’s support.
“There was a lot of help from [the NSW and Queensland] community, both helping physically with things like repairs, but also that emotional support as well,” she said.
Back in Blanchetown, Mr Smith echoed this sentiment, and said he was hopeful it would unite the region.
“As a community, we all need to come together and help each other out as best as we can,” he said.
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