What a horrible, horrible week.. Last Monday I was oblivious to the week that lay ahead. And when I snapped a picture of the rain last weekend, I never imagined that a few short days later there would be a lot more water than anyone could have prepared for. After watching the horror unfold in Toowoomba and its surrounding areas on Monday, we woke on Tuesday to find ourselves packing up and evacuating our home. We were fortunate to have a place to store our belongings and a place to go, unlike many. So we headed to my Aunty's place, kids - pets and all (thanks Aunty Storm xo) and waited and watched and waited and watched (the news, facebook and the BOM) until the river peaked and the next morning, Damian was able to head home to check how the house had fared. Amazingly, we were dry! I have no idea how, when our home was under in 1974, but by some miracle, there was only a few inches up the back fence.. Unfortunately others weren't so lucky and many faced the full devastation and the force of the floods. Unpacking my belongings again seemed so trivial compared to what they were facing at the same time..
It has been lovely to see the community spirit in both the lead up and aftermath of the flood.. The amount of people concerned initially for other's safety, assisting in evacuating, offering places to stay, lending an ear and now afterwards cleaning up, lending a hand, offering support and assisting in any way they can, has been heartwarming to both see and hear. Shows us that community spirit is still alive and well in our busy, modern society and if nothing else, this has served as a reminder of what the human spirit is capable of.
As my Aunty put it, one feels rather guilty coming home to a hot shower, washing machine and a clean pair of clothes.. I am hopeful that in the weeks and months to come, everyone will have those little luxuries again and that we are all able to band together to ensure this happens as quickly as possible for everyone affected.
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