Susanna Freymark, indyNR.com

450 POSTS

Woodburn slowly comes back to life, one bakery and one pub at a time

Empty shells of houses. Rubbish piled up outside homes. Waterlogged Woodburn is drying out. In week three since the floods, the sound of dozers and trucks echoes though the empty streets removing the rubbish piles, one at a time. There was one place where there were a lot of people – a queue of them. The Woodburn Wurlitzer Bakery opened today, March 21.

‘Falling through the gaps’: Catch-22 for small farmers applying for flood recovery grants

Cattle farmers like Rachel Bell at Coraki need help. Having just experienced their worst flood ever, they need to rebuild and the flood recovery grants are supposed to make that rebuilding easier. Unfortunately, Rachel has found herself in the position where she doesn’t qualify for the flood recovery grants because she doesn’t fit the eligibility criteria for a farmer or as a small business owner.

ATTENTION: Message the army for help

One thousand army personnel are based in Casino helping with the flood recovery ... This group isn’t only for Casino, residents in surrounding areas can put in a request for assistance ... The army have been in Woodburn and Coraki and helped out at the Rappville Pub.

Kyogle mayor: Who gets to choose, people or councillors?

Shemozzle. That was the Kyogle Council meeting on Monday, March 14. Shemozzle is a Yiddish word for a confused situation or a mess. And what a mess it was, in the discussion around having a referendum to ask residents whether they want the mayor elected directly by the people.

Fight or flight? Jessica and Michael did both to rescue hundreds with their helicopters

At the start of the floods, private company Rotorwing Helicopters was using two helicopters. Now they have 12 here. Over five days they made 20 drops to Coraki. They have coordinated 250 drops so far across the region. At least 100 people have been moved to safety by their helicopter crews. More than 1000 calls for assistance have come in.

Two dairy farmers meeting the demand for milk after the floods

In the aftermath of the flood, bread and milk have become important commodities. With delivery trucks from Brisbane delayed, dairy farmers Shane Hickey and Julia Curtis have stepped up to get milk to as many places as they can ... In the past few days, they have widened their delivery service ... Dave’s Bakehouse in Kyogle is flat out making bread ...

‘Where are the government when we need them most?’

While the focus in Evans Head is on getting food and fuel into the town and cleaning-up, the harrowing flood experiences the community went through remain. And will for a long time ... Like many residents in Coraki, Woodburn and Broadwater, Kerri-Anne is unhappy about how the flood crisis was managed.

Tatham: ‘We saved 60-odd cows by swimming with them’

Elizabeth and Hayden Steele made sure they built their Colorbond home on Casino's Coraki Rd above the one-in-100 flood height. That was two years ago, and like many people in the area they were surprised when floodwaters lapped at their doorstep.

It’s not even Beef Week: Cattle on roads and in backyards in Casino

In Beef Town, cattle are proving to be a problem. Disorientated and lost in the floods, cows have been spotted in backyards and in the streets of Casino.

Floods: Water supply cut at Broadwater, Rileys Hill

The current flooding across the Richmond Valley, and associated power outages, have affected Richmond Valley Council’s water supply at Broadwater and Rileys Hill. The council’s water-sewer team is working hard to find the break affecting the water supply.