Latest news with #Glenthorne
SBS Australia
a day ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
'Going to get worse': Why Sam's dream home came with a $30,000 insurance dilemma
Sam Halloran (left) with his father Leigh, outside their flood damaged home in Glenthorne, NSW. Source: SBS News Sam Halloran wanted to raise his son in the house his father Leigh raised him in. But their dream turned to a nightmare as the biggest flood in living memory tore through their community in May. The Manning River rose so quickly that Sam, his wife and two-year-old son became trapped on the second level of their riverside home just outside the Taree CBD, in Glenthorne, NSW. His wife and son were airlifted to safety by helicopter, in a dramatic rescue Sam filmed from their balcony. "It was a big ordeal," Sam told SBS News. "My wife and son were airlifted by PolAir first. Then they came back and got my roommate who's been living downstairs with us. "They were going to take me as well, but they couldn't take our two dogs.' On Facebook Sam wrote of the rescue: "Probably the most traumatic thing I've ever endured having to restrain my beautiful two year old son in this bag screaming while his mum was being lifted up and pass him onto the roof to be lifted into the air with her." Sam said he decided to stay and wait for a State Emergency Service boat. "They eventually did come. They came and got me with the two dogs," he said. "There was a moment there where we thought we might not get the dogs out, so when that did happen, it was quite a relief." Sam said he launched straight into the cleanup and hasn't fully processed being rescued and coming back to a house left ruined by floodwater, mud and debris. Sam's two-year-old son has been having nightmares about the helicopter rescue, he said. "I've got to be here [for the cleanup], but it's getting harder to get out of bed." Protecting Sam's dream home and his young family's future was put at a very high price. "We had one insurance company that would have insured us, but it was over $30,000 a year, which we couldn't afford,' Sam said. The quote provided to Sam in August last year, seen by SBS News, shows the annual premium for standard building and contents insurance on their home was priced at $29,817.91. Insurance premiums in the area soared out of reach for most after floods in 2021. This year in the Manning Valley, the flood reached more than a metre higher than four years ago, so the insurance problem is only expected to worsen. "There's going to be people that were insured that won't be insured moving forward," Sam said. Leigh, Sam's father, says he purchased insurance on the same home in 2002. "I think I paid about $700 to insure the house. Yes, it was 20 years ago, but it's not comparable, is it?" Leigh said. "Insurance companies, sure, they're there to make a profit. I understand that. They wouldn't exist without profit. "But at the end of the day, they're putting premiums up far beyond the average household's budget." The Hallorans said they'd only heard of one person in the area who was insured, but their premium was still over $10,000 a year. On their street, they didn't know of anyone able to afford the exorbitant premiums. "No one in this entire street has flood insurance because they are all quoted around the $30,000 mark," Leigh said. In April, financial comparison site Canstar published its analysis of average annual premiums for home and contents insurance across Australia. In NSW, the average combined policy costs $2,210, based on homes valued between $300,000 and $1.5 million with $50,000 in contents cover. The Insurance Council of Australia has declared the recent NSW floods an 'insurance catastrophe', with nearly 8,000 claims processed as of Saturday. Up to 10,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed, with more than 800 already declared uninhabitable. During a visit to Taree on Tuesday, SBS News asked Insurance Council of Australia CEO Andrew Hall whether he would support reforms to assist people who can't afford to insure their properties or businesses in flood zones. "When we see that happen and particularly in events like we're going through here at the moment, it underscores the point that we have been making now for a number of years to government," Hall said. "Insurance prices [relate to] the risk, and we know that in Australia there are around 220,000 homes that are built in high-risk flood zones like where we are right now. "We need to come up with a flood defence fund that can better flood-proof those properties, that can lift the home out of harm's way and, worst-case scenario, we may have to look at buybacks." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, also speaking in Taree on Tuesday, acknowledged "there are longer-term issues that need to be looked at" to address the insurance problem. "We recognise that people are doing it really tough. I've said that more support is going to be needed," Albanese said. "We expect insurance companies to do right by their customers and swiftly process claims. They've set up an office here so that they can be dealt with swiftly. "But our focus now is on the cleanup and recovery from this event. That's our focus, the immediate needs." Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain also told ABC's RN Breakfast program on Wednesday that insurance in flood-prone areas was a "significant concern". "We know for a number of the businesses and the farms that we spoke to, they either haven't been offered insurance or insurance was too expensive for them to take up," McBain said. She said she and Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino would be having direct discussions with insurance companies and the Insurance Council. Sam Halloran told SBS News that the immediate relief provided by the federal government wasn't proportionate to the scale of the cleanup and recovery facing the community. "Seventy people from the [Australian Defence Force] … we've had more volunteers than that just in our street alone in the last week, so I don't know what 70 ADF members are supposed to do," he said. "I've got people here working that have run their own businesses, they're sole operators, and they've donated their time to help me. "We need machinery. At my place alone, there is something like 400 trucks worth of silt to get rid of." A few doors down from the Hallorans, Daryl Hammond owns a farm. His main business is producing feed. The seasonal nature of his business, he says, means insurance is nearly impossible for him to get. "I can't insure anything because last month I had over 1,000 bales of silage. Come the end of July, August, I might have 50. How can I insure something like that?" Hammond told SBS News last week. "I'd be onto the broker every second day. It would cost me $20,000 [to] $30,000 a year just to have everything insured if I could insure it. And, I mean, mostly [the insurance companies] just shake their head." For Hammond, the Hallorans and their neighbours, they want to see change. The community wants to keep living where they have deep roots and connections, but also wants a way to protect their future. "Houses like this are not a river frontage, there is a farm between us and the river. At the end of the day, yes, it's in a flood zone, but [the insurance] is becoming unfathomable," Leigh Halloran said. "Sam spent his teenage years here. It's a great community. Everyone just gets on perfectly, and it was a great place for him to grow up, and he wants to raise his son in this community, you know? Which is really, really nice." Sam Halloran says it's impossible to predict what Mother Nature is going to do, but all levels of government need to work harder to prevent the impact of disasters on regional communities. "The 100-year flood development control in our local council area is, at the moment, 5.2 metres," he said. "Anyone building a new house had to have a floor level of 5.7 metres. This flood was nearly 6.5 metres. So, someone could have built a brand-new house close to the river, had full insurance and still had this water through the house. 'It's something that we can't control. You can't not live near the river." Sam says with the level of damage seen in the homes and businesses of Taree, insuring "is going to get worse, not better".
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Climate
- SBS Australia
‘Dead cows in the house': How floods devastated Australian farmers
Dairy farmer Kevin Schlenert says he's continuing to find cattle who were washed away in floodwaters. Some are turning up alive, but many are still being discovered dead far downstream. Source: SBS News Content warning: The story contains distressing images of dead animals. Brothers Kevin and Doug Schlenert have been lifelong dairy farmers, carrying on in the footsteps of three generations of their family. Floods that devastated the NSW mid-north coast last week destroyed their diary production facilities and killed at least 70 per cent of their herd. "I've got no dairy now to keep going. I don't know which way to turn at the current moment,' Kevin said, speaking with SBS News at his home in Glenthorne on Sunday. "I don't know if I can bounce back from this. I really don't know.' Kevin said the water rose so fast he became trapped inside his home for 24 hours before he was picked up in a neighbour's boat. "It raised very quick. I went to the steps [of my house] within half an hour, then all of a sudden, in an hour and a half it was at the windowsill. "I sat in my bedroom on the mattress where I was found floating. "I had my dog and cat on the mattress with me. I had to vacate out the window.' He said one heifer floated into the house, while he sat on his floating mattress. "One got into my bedroom. She was alive and swimming, and she wanted to climb on the mattress," Kevin said. What he saw when he returned shattered him. "I found three [cattle] alive in my house and five dead ones inside the house. I have removed them and buried them," Kevin said. "It's heartbreaking to see them because you reared them as babies, and you get attached to them." He said he found more dead cattle downriver and heard of more washed up on beaches. Kevin's story is one shared by many dairy farmers in the area. His brother Doug, who shares the property and dairy with Kevin and also lost livestock, says the entire community is "drained". "There's a few dairy farmers here that haven't been hit bloody hard, they've been hit that hard it's not funny," Doug told SBS News on Wednesday. "One family, they've lost a hundred head of cattle — and they were big freaking cows. "The dairy industry up in the Manning is a big community. But [in] times like this we'll struggle." During a visit to the area on Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited a dairy farm in West Taree. Doug says he would have liked to have seen the Albanese visit more impacted farmers. "He didn't come anywhere near me. He didn't show his face in Glenthorne." "I'd like to say to him, 'I found 32 dead cows, prime minister, are you gonna replace them?'" Kevin said cows are turning up alive, but it's difficult to get them back to the pastures. "We're not equipped to go onto the beaches and find them," he said. "We don't have horses, motorbikes to get them off the beaches, and there's still cattle running loose on the streets." Since Kevin's story was first shared this week, many have expressed sorrow and a desire to help. Kevin and Doug said they've felt touched by the messages of support, but stressed their plight was shared across the region, by dairy farmers, feed producers, oyster growers, beekeepers, shops, and residents. "If people want to help, they can help — we've just gotta get the dairy up and running. That's going to be a real big task," Doug said. But both he and Kevin said they're not sure if they'll be able to come back from this. "I think this has just pushed the boundaries too far." "I've been through the 2021 flood, and this year I think this is the fourth one I've been through, and I don't know if I can come out of this on the other side of it." "It's in our blood — my dad, his dad, and his dad. Three generations of dairy farmers," Doug said. He says they need a new vat and compressors to start up dairy production again, as their equipment was destroyed in the flood. For now, they're milking cows in a neighbour's dairy. Kevin says he's received the one-off $1,000 payment made available for flood victims. He says he's also eligible for a $130,000 two-year interest-free loan from the government. "Then I'd start paying it back over 12 years. That would be getting me close up to 70 years of age, I don't know if I still want to be dairying then," Kevin said. More than money, Kevin wants to see real and lasting change. He wants flood warning sirens installed across the Manning River catchment, which is one of the biggest in NSW. "Make sure the sirens are put on the river because you never know what Mother Nature is going to throw at us again," Kevin said. "If the river rises, they go off quicker than what the SES can get the text messages to us or any news crew get messages to us." "If the politicians don't get off their bums and put the flood warning sirens in place, it's not going to prevent another disaster like this." While in the region this week, Albanese acknowledged the particular challenge facing primary producers, including dairy farmers. "We know there are major challenges, but what we're about now is dealing with the immediate concerns of recovery and looking after people during this period," Albanese said. NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said he'd like to see more meaningful support for farmers. "We haven't heard any indication of when a category C or D declaration might be made, which would unlock what we know is needed for primary producers and also for small businesses, which is grant funding," Saunders said. "Nobody can manage or wants another concession alone. That's currently what's on offer. Nobody can afford that. Nobody's had insurance. "If they've had a loan previously, they're worried about paying that off. They need a helping hand in the form of a grant. They do not need another loan." Emergency Services Minister Kristy McBain on Wednesday said the federal government was "hoping to enact category C ... shortly". A spokesperson for Dairy Australia said as well as financial support, the mental health of farmers is a growing concern, given the scale of the flood impacts. "Dairy Australia's regional teams are reaching out to flood-affected farmers with direct check-in calls to better understand the impact on their farms and well-being," the spokesperson said. "The locally led NSW Dairy Emergency Leadership Group is also providing practical support, prioritising immediate response needs such as assisting in allocating/sourcing fodder, generator support for those without power, milking machine techs, vet assistance, matching options for cow parking, mental health support, and communications to impacted farmers." Dairy Australia says some fundraisers have been set up for impacted farmers, but that the organisation does not endorse any specific charity or fundraising campaign. "We do note that the NSW SES is leading the flood response, and Rural Aid has stepped in to provide practical support to farmers recovering from natural disasters. Both of these organisations accept donations," the spokesperson said. Hundreds of fundraisers have been set up for residents and businesses impacted by the NSW floods. A spokesperson for GoFundMe says it has established a crisis team to oversee heightened fundraising activity. "We also launched a dedicated hub of verified fundraisers to help Australians discover fundraisers for those impacted by the floods." "It is not uncommon for those with no direct connection to launch a fundraiser, out of kindness and goodwill. In these cases, all donations are safely held until GoFundMe are able to ensure that funds can be transferred safely to the intended beneficiary. "If our specialists are unable to verify a connection, the fundraiser will be removed and donors refunded." Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). Readers seeking support with mental health can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. More information is available at .
The Guardian
25-05-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
‘A heifer came into the bedroom': Kevin survived the NSW floods – but his dairy farm might not
When the water began to rise on Kevin Schlenert's farm in Glenthorne near Taree, eventually submerging every inch of it, he took shelter on a raised mattress in his bedroom. But as he waited for help, fearing the worst, some of his cattle had the same idea. 'I had a heifer come into the bedroom,' Schlenert says. 'She wanted to jump on the mattress and I had to actually push her back to get away from me. I felt bloody terrible doing it but it was either me or her. All I kept saying to myself was, 'I am not ready to drown and die here. I don't want to die here.' Schlenert spent a night huddled with his cows, surrounded by water, last week. When he was eventually rescued by a neighbour on a boat, he left with just his clothes, his cat and dog. When the water subsided and Schlenert returned to his home, he discovered five of his cows had died inside. Another three were alive in the home, but needed urgent care. 'People have said to me: 'Why didn't you have the doors closed?' I did have them shut to try to keep the water out, but the pressure of the cows and the water was just too much,' he says. Like many farmers in the region, Schlenert is now burying his dead stock. So far, he's discovered 15 dead cows. But he says about 70% of his herd has been washed away, unaccounted for. At the flood's peak, the water rose until only a metre or so of the dairy's roof was exposed. 'We are trying to organise other farmers to take our cows to milk as the dairy is a total write-off,' he says. 'We don't have power and I assume we won't have it for weeks.' Schlenert, 57, is a third-generation farmer. He has now seen five major floods tear through the region, including in 1978, when the Manning River breached its banks. Now 'virtually homeless' and staying with friends, he fears he is being forced to 'give up on the industry'. 'It's just got to the point where I think this will send me bankrupt,' Schlenert says. 'I think I have no choice. This is breaking point for me.' Peita Carroll, who runs a Sydney rock oyster farm near the Manning River estuary, says her stock has also been decimated. She has now endured five floods in five years. She says she won't be able to sell anything for another two years. 'We always get left behind because no one sees our stock die,' Carroll says. 'They see the cows and they see the sheep – this is a big farming area – people share the images. But this is our stock too.' Like many others, Schlenert and Carroll are mostly uninsured. This is not uncommon, according to the Insurance Council of Australia's Andrew Hall, who says insurance rates for flood-prone areas are 'less than one in four'. So far, more than 3,600 insurance claims have been lodged after the severe flooding across the mid-north coast, Hunter and greater Sydney regions. Four in five claims are for personal property, with the remainder being commercial and motor claims. 'People who can least afford to lose everything are living in homes that were built in the wrong location and often have very little flood defences available to them,' Hall told ABC TV on Sunday. Hall says far more money needs to be spent on preventive measures, to limit the impact of future floods. While surveying the damage to his property and stock, Schlenert agrees. 'Why hasn't the Manning River got sirens on it that alert people to when it's peaking?' he asks. 'Why haven't the politicians got off their arses and made this happen? They need to get them in place as soon as possible.' As the focus turns from rescue to recovery, the state government has announced 'a range of immediate support measures' for those affected by the floods, including hardship payments. Schlenert is pleading with the government to move as quickly as possible. The state's premier, Chris Minns, acknowledges these payments have not always helped desperate people in a timely fashion. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'We're determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past, given we're having more and more of these natural disasters,' Minns said on the weekend. As people await long-term help, neighbours have been doing all they can to support each other. In Taree, India Boss and Chloe Graham handed out cold beers to strangers sweeping mud and rubbish from homes. Earlier in the day, they carried sausages in bread to those fighting exhaustion. The huge piles of rubbish gathered by the volunteers include picture frames and children's toys, washed from far-away homes. Mattresses, chairs and tables have been tossed onto the pile awaiting collection. Local businesses in Wingham, to the north-west of Taree, have been providing free food and drinks to those 'who've lost everything'. Paul, who runs a local pizza shop in the town, says it was like the community 'was forgotten for a few days'. 'It was just very hard to get resources,' says Paul. 'It was no one's fault, it was just a once-in-a-lifetime flood. It's very tough.' The state's housing minister, Rose Jackson, says the government is committed to helping those in need and is 'working closely with emergency services and community leaders to understand what locals need and provide help to those impacted'. Almost 200 additional emergency service partners from Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT have been deployed to the area to help the state emergency service (SES). 'So far, 480 damage assessments have been carried out, with building inundation seen in many locations, and many have sustained significant damage and are unhabitable,' SES assistant commissioner Allison Flaxman said. The agency has responded to more than 7,400 incidents and conducted almost 800 flood rescues. In the 24 hours to Sunday morning, there were 328 incidents reported to the SES, including 16 flood rescues. More than 40 people remained in evacuation centres, unable to return home. While many people are now focused on rebuilding their lives, the SES is urging them not to become complacent. 'I get why people want to get back on the road and get back into the communities where they can but again, my message is, do not go through flood waters,' says the SES commissioner, Mike Wassing. 'I want to see zero flood rescues tomorrow. That's my aim, and I need people to and the community members to help me in achieving that aim.'
ABC News
22-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Family rescued from Taree floods sought refuge on roof of their new home
Just hours after her family were airlifted from their roof with floodwaters swelling below, Seeanna Briscoe was preparing for another double shift at Taree Hospital. "What else am I going to do?" she told the ABC. It's all hands on deck at the hospital and that includes healthcare worker Ms Briscoe, who on Wednesday lost almost everything. Her husband Troy, sons Jax and Cruz, her father Lawrence, their dogs and three baby chickens were winched to safety by a rescue helicopter as raging floods claimed their new Glenthorne home on Wednesday morning. Ms Briscoe went to work the morning earlier thinking the incoming rain "was nothing like the 2021 floods". By midday she would be trapped at the hospital with all roads around Taree flooded, her family stranded at home. At 8pm the second level of their home began to flood. Troy swam through the garage to fetch life vests for the children and told them to pack a bag of clothes each. Through Tuesday night the family would progressively move higher and higher up their three-level home. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Troy was told by emergency services to kick a hole in the roof and bring his family up above the house. They were soon on the roof with the floodwaters lapping at their feet. "[Troy] said, 'I don't think anyone is coming, I think we're gonna die'," she recalled her partner saying as the flooding intensified on Tuesday evening. "I didn't know if my family would survive. "I just kept telling him it would be daylight soon." From the helicopter her family had the most devastating vantage point of all, watching as their belongings swept into the deluge that has battered the Mid North Coast this week. Videos taken by the family showed the frightening moment as their home was slowly swallowed. Other footage showed them pacing on the roof trying to get the attention of emergency services above. PolAir rescued Ms Briscoe's teenage sons first. They were eventually bussed to safety in Tuncurry while her husband and father were dropped to safety on a nearby verandah. The family had been there just five months. Nothing they lost was insured and they are now homeless. Ms Briscoe is helping flood victims in the hospital who have a raft of injuries, while her family finds refuge with different relatives. She is sleeping in a makeshift wing of the hospital, holed up until the waters recede. She plans to continue working "to keep my mind off it". When she can eventually leave she will have no home to go back to. "Taree is an island now," Ms Briscoe said. Treasured pictures, mementos, clothes, furniture, electronics and husband Troy's prized Harley Davidson motorbike are likely lost forever. The family are just one story among the more than 300 people who were rescued from raging floodwaters that day. "The kids' stuff is just stuff, at least they're alive," Ms Briscoe said. "It's traumatising for everyone, my kids don't have a home and we're actually homeless." On her double shift on Thursday afternoon, Ms Briscoe told the ABC she is preparing for another night sleeping at the hospital. When she finishes she has no home to go to, with her family spread out across the Mid North Coast sleeping in spare rooms of loved ones. Their only lifeline right now are the generous friends and family willing to lend a hand or with a crowdfunding campaign to help their attempts to rebuild their lives.
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
Flash floods cut off inland Australian towns, residents flee to rooftops
SYDNEY, May 21 (Reuters) - Heavy rain in Australia's southeast triggered flash flooding and cut off entire towns on Wednesday, stranding some residents on the roofs of their homes, as authorities issued snap evacuation orders with rivers staying above danger levels. Rural towns in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, were the worst hit from the downpour, with some areas receiving more than four months worth of rain over the past 24 hours. "We have seen an enormous amount of rainfall," New South Wales Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib told reporters. "We've got a situation here where the rain really has been falling quite heavily and quite hard, and it hasn't been moving away. Part of that is because the ground is saturated and another part is also because the rivers are swollen." In its latest update, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said some areas could receive up to 300 mm (12 inches) of rain over the next 24 hours, three times the mean total for May. Images shared on social media showed some residents sitting inside their homes ankle-deep in water waiting for rescue crews. In the towns of Taree and Glenthorne, which sit along the Manning River more than 300 km (186 miles) north of Sydney, some residents were trapped on verandas and roofs with emergency crews struggling overnight to access the area by boat or air, authorities said. "We didn't expect this amount of water," Glenthorne resident Jordan Halloran told ABC News. "Our neighbours will have to go onto the roof next and if we're not rescued, I would say we will have to make our way to the roof as well." New South Emergency Services Commissioner Mike Wassing said emergency crews were giving top priority to rescuing vulnerable people and those who could not leave their homes. "The current focus (will be on) people that are actually on roofs or in other cases might be on the second story of their home," Wassing said.
