North Deniliquin residents have been able to return to their homes, but say an air of uncertainty still lingers in the air.
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It was pandemonium in the streets from Sunday to Tuesday as residents prepared for the Wednesday evacuation deadline handed down by the SES and other relevant authorities.
Residents experiences a rollercoaster of emotions, holding back tears and coping with the tress of the situation while trying to secure the homes and get to safety before a predicted flood surge peak of 9.6m eventuated.
Businesses closed or cut back hours due to the flood risk, and sandbagging and the construction of earthen levees continued for hours of end in anticipating of inundation.
But by Tuesday afternoon, the peak has been revised down and the evacuation order was lifted.
The Bureau of Meteorology advised the Edward River at Deniliquin peaked at 9.19m about 1.30am Tuesday, and was already staing to receded by that afternoon.
The SES has warned though that the Edward River will remain within the moderate flood level for a “significant amount of time” because the river is predicted to fall “extremely slowly”.
And with little advice on whether the community would be subjected to another flood surge, Davidson St residents and businesses - and other in affected areas - are encouraged to keep their protection measures in place.
For David St Leon - who with wife Debbie was forced to evacuate his Hogdkins St home off Davidson St - it means his home business would remain impacted.
A metal sculptor, Mr St Leon had to remove most of his sculptures from his yard in preparation for evacuation.
“It is frustrating not being able to put the business back together,” he said.
“It took so much to take it all down, and I don’t want to put it back up again only to be told we may have to evacuate again.
“It’s going to mean I will miss the Christmas rush, which could cost me thousands of dollars in income.”
Mr St Leon said he was glad to be back home again though, and reunited with his wife.
They had planned for Mrs St Leon to stay with friends south of the National Bridge, while Mr St Leon would stay with friends in the north so he could monitor their own home and their neighbours’.
“I am grateful to be back home with Deb again,” he said.
“Thankfully nothing bad happened to the house.
“We’re looking forward to moving on now, and we really want to thank all of the volunteers.”
A lifetime resident of Davidson St, Alan Maher and his wife Linda said they were thankful for the assistance from the Deniliquin Rams Football Club in sandbagging their home and preparing to leave.
He said the evacuation has come at a cost - emotionally, physically and financially.
“My mother and father lived in this house,” he said.
“My father was born in that house (next door) and in 1954 he built this house. I’m the third generation of these two houses.”
Maher said he had spent $15,000 on flood preparation and was preparing to spend another $1,000 in an effort to save the two houses and a recently renovated shed, which cost them $20,000.
“We’ve been able to retire pretty comfortably. We can afford these enormous costs but 90% of other people can’t,” he said.
Before the evacuation order was lifted, Julie Pearn spent much of Tuesday loading the furniture and belongings from her Herriott St home into a trailer to meet the 10am Wednesday evacuation deadline.
She had managed to empty her home.
At that time the water was already lapping at her back fence.
“We can’t get insurance here,” she said. “For insurance along this street it’s like six grand a year, so none of us got insurance. It’s just devastating.”
While the river has continued to ebb and rise for a number of weeks, Mrs Pearn said they did not get enough time to prepare for the evacuation order.
“We kept on being told we’re okay and then, all of a sudden, now you’ve got to get out,” she said.
“Most of us are older people, and it’s just cruel. It’s really cruel.”
When asked if anything could have been done to prepare the Davidson St area earlier, Edward River Council said it could only “plan and act on the information provided”.
“These decisions are a balancing judgement based on risk, and assisted by the actions in the flood plan based on river levels,” it said.
“When the Bureau of Meteorology earlier estimated the river may reach 9.4m, the planned works were not required.
“The flood prediction from the Bureau of Meteorology that a flood peak of 9.6m may be reached necessitated the measures in Davidson Street.
“Davidson Street is an important transport link and upon receiving this advice council commenced planning and implementation of further works along Davidson Street.
“It is part of flood planning and implementation that you work with the provided information and that this information can change quickly.”
Actions taken in north Deniliquin, and other flood impacted areas, are based on flood studies compiled by council after previous flood events.
Council said these studies have been utilised since the risk of flooding increased.
“It is based on actions to take prior to certain levels being reached, including identifying when the Davidson Street area may be impacted,” council said.
“An assessment was made on what work could be done to bring the levee up to a level of 9.4m on the town gauge, and this work was undertaken in conjunction with property owners.
“Information was provided to the SES, and to the community during the town meeting that the Davidson Street levee is likely to be overtopped if the river level rises above 9.4m.
“The implementation of the plan relating to all community infrastructure, including the Davidson Street levee and Davidson Street, was based on the predicted river levels.
“As these predicted river levels increased, the works undertaken were also increased.”
Deniliquin business owner Ian Fisher said he believed some of the measures being implemented - or about to be implemented - in Davidson St earlier this week were a “waste of time”.
“They shut us all (businesses) down over here, and it was all for nothing,” Mr Fisher said.
“They were also going to build a levee, and there’s mounds of dirt everywhere and I can barely get in and out of my yard (Northside Car Solutions).
“The area between the two bridges has always been and will always be a floodway, and if you stop water passing through there the town floods. That is the natural hydrology of this area.
“It’s been common knowledge since 1956, when the levee bank was cut over here to save the town.
“Trying to build something like that down Davidson St was always going to be useless, because the water comes up from both sides.
“It was not going to stop the water, and it might have caused twice as much damage if the water got as high as expected and it blew out.”
While in flood situations you always prepare for the worst case scenario, Mr Fisher said what’s left after this week is mounds of dirt and no real answer as to who will clean it up again and when.
The levee system in Davidson St is an informal one, and not owned, managed or maintained by council.
Mr Fisher said while this flood is not the worst seen in Deniliquin, he said the movement of water has changed because some of those levees have been dismantled or been left to deteriorate over time.