1
00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:05,600
Speaker 1: This is gem Nation with Jonesyanda. The flooding in Youghara

2
00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,680
Speaker 1: has been described by residents as an inland tsunami. Yesterday

3
00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:12,080
Speaker 1: we spoke with resident Anthony Robinson, who had a terrific

4
00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,800
Speaker 1: time trying to escape the wall of water coming towards him,

5
00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,480
Speaker 1: the fear of wondering where his family was. He said,

6
00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,360
Speaker 1: right now, the biggest thing the town needs is fuel.

7
00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:25,480
Speaker 1: This is a town that has lost some residents. It's

8
00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:28,520
Speaker 1: lost people's homes, it's lost belongings, it's lost memories, it's

9
00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,760
Speaker 1: lost livelihoods, it's lost futures. How hard it must be.

10
00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,360
Speaker 1: So where do we start with the helping and the

11
00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,879
Speaker 1: cleaning up? What do we do? The mayor of Carbon Council,

12
00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:41,280
Speaker 1: which is in the Ugara Shire, is Kevin Beatty and

13
00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:42,520
Speaker 1: he joins us now hollow Ken.

14
00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:45,280
Speaker 2: Good morning, Jones, Good morning Amanda.

15
00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:49,640
Speaker 1: How are you going. How's the community feeling today?

16
00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:53,680
Speaker 2: Yeah? Look, the clean up was one on truly on

17
00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,960
Speaker 2: the way, yes, saying canander Minya Gower should say with

18
00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:03,480
Speaker 2: coined Canounder as well. Look, the generosity of people has

19
00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:08,279
Speaker 2: been absolutely incredible. We had machinery trucks from all over

20
00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:13,120
Speaker 2: the regional area. There yesterday, lending a hand and manpower everywhere,

21
00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,200
Speaker 2: just trying to get this place back to some normality.

22
00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:20,840
Speaker 1: As we've I mean, where do we even begin? Has

23
00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,280
Speaker 1: this town been wiped off the map? I mean, it

24
00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:27,160
Speaker 1: seems incredible that you can survive this. Look.

25
00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,520
Speaker 2: Words cannot describe to the destruction there. You you mentioned

26
00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,320
Speaker 2: in lands and I called that very early when I've

27
00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:39,520
Speaker 2: got reports of you know, two waves of water coming

28
00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,200
Speaker 2: through the town and that's just not normal in the

29
00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,920
Speaker 2: flooding situation especially they're normally drifts in quite slow and

30
00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,320
Speaker 2: drifts out again and it does a fair amount of

31
00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,400
Speaker 2: damage then. But this time, Wow, it's just incredible. Houses

32
00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:57,480
Speaker 2: picked up and driven. In some cases we haven't found

33
00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:01,240
Speaker 2: some houses, you know, they're just gone and to drive

34
00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:04,480
Speaker 2: houses and I described it. I've been describing at the

35
00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,400
Speaker 2: house that used to be at number eight is now

36
00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,040
Speaker 2: at number twenty eight and the only reason it's stopped

37
00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,160
Speaker 2: is because it's hit a telegraph pole and being waged

38
00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:11,880
Speaker 2: against the pole.

39
00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,359
Speaker 3: And with Anthony Robinson really came home watching it on

40
00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:17,959
Speaker 3: the Current Affair, Anthony with his dog heading towards his

41
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,720
Speaker 3: fuel drive and the water is only just around sort

42
00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:22,960
Speaker 3: of wheel height and then he's one hundred meters down

43
00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:24,720
Speaker 3: the road and then the whole his whole fall drive

44
00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,399
Speaker 3: gets washed up against a house that would have been

45
00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:28,120
Speaker 3: so scary.

46
00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:32,840
Speaker 2: Look, Jonesy, absolutely, and there's just so many stories like that.

47
00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:38,560
Speaker 2: You know, an old lady I spoke to yesterday, seventy

48
00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:42,919
Speaker 2: five years of age, hanging from the door frame, waist

49
00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:47,400
Speaker 2: deep in water and was then eventually rescued by the helicopter.

50
00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:49,560
Speaker 2: She's in there for over two hours.

51
00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,200
Speaker 1: And this is a small community, Kevin, where everyone knows everyone.

52
00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,480
Speaker 1: This must be heartbreaking that even if you're okay, your neighbor.

53
00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:01,919
Speaker 2: Isn't exactly a man. You know, there's just so many

54
00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,919
Speaker 2: heroic stories. And look, I know it's as you mentioned,

55
00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,520
Speaker 2: it's devastating. We've already lost lost one life. We're looking

56
00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:13,120
Speaker 2: for another, gentleman. If this had happened in the dark

57
00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,480
Speaker 2: hours of the night, goodness knows how many lives would

58
00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:16,960
Speaker 2: have been lost.

59
00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,840
Speaker 3: It'd be grateful for small mercies. But we're talking to

60
00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:22,240
Speaker 3: Anthony yesterday. He said, one of the things you guys

61
00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,600
Speaker 3: need is fuel. So we managed to put together some fuel,

62
00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:27,000
Speaker 3: ten thousand dollars worth of fuel.

63
00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,200
Speaker 2: Wow well, wow, wow, guys that is fantastic. That is

64
00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:33,720
Speaker 2: a big issue at the moment out there, fuel and

65
00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,280
Speaker 2: that will go a long way to help him. So

66
00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:38,280
Speaker 2: thank you, thank you, thank you so much.

67
00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:40,680
Speaker 3: And we'll leave it up to you how you've dispersed that.

68
00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,600
Speaker 3: But yeah, that's the least we could do on short notice.

69
00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,560
Speaker 2: Well fantastic. Look, the community is going to be so

70
00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,680
Speaker 2: grateful for that. That fuel is an issue. Fuel station's

71
00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:57,520
Speaker 2: gone and the nearest field station is almost an hour away,

72
00:03:57,600 --> 00:03:59,119
Speaker 2: so yeah, that is fantastic.

73
00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:01,360
Speaker 1: Well, I hope you feel filling the love from from

74
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,760
Speaker 1: all of us all around Australia and we are indeed.

75
00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,800
Speaker 2: Look, thanks God, thanks once again and the generosity of

76
00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:10,000
Speaker 2: all Australia has been fantastic.

77
00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:11,880
Speaker 3: Thank you, Kevin, Betty there