Bundaberg residents face massive cleanup

  • Breaking
  • 31/01/2013

Residents in Bundaberg, Queensland, are being warned that even after floodwaters recede they may not be able to go home straight away.

The death toll of six may also still rise, with the army and fire service planning a door to door search for bodies.

Brett Jensen's is one local affected by the weather – his riverside bar and restaurant was submerged yesterday, but 24 hours later the water has receded, leaving behind a muddy mess.

“I've had many tears, the stress levels are that high that you literally vomit from stress and then you have moments where you laugh. At the moment I'm feeling really good but it's high and low. Later today I'll be crying like a baby,” he says.

The bar received some flood damage in 2011 and Mr Jensen jokingly renamed it The Flood Bar - it doesn't seem funny now.

In 2011 the upstairs restaurant was untouched, but not so this time.

“Not in a million years did I think the flooding [would] reach the restaurant, the ceiling’s gone from downstairs and a bad flood would be below the ceiling. It's gone above that, it's gone into the next ceiling and it's gone above that as well,” he says.

As well as leaving behind a trail of destruction, the floods also delivered a few surprises.

“We had a few snakes out on the deck there and then they'd go higher again. The creatures that came up with the water like cockroaches and centipedes and things like that was ridiculous, but amazing to watch,” says Mr Jensen.

When the flooding subsides in North Bundaberg the army will go door-to-door looking for bodies. In the meantime they're helping with the clean-up in East Bundaberg - along with volunteers known as the mud army. They started the clean up at a school.

Many of the volunteers live in north Bundaberg, the worst-affected area. They can't get home because it's still flooded and too dangerous. Even emergency services can't access parts of it. But instead of sitting around worrying they're in the eastern suburbs helping with the clean-up.

When they can get home they have an enormous clean-up job ahead.

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source: newshub archive