It was long after the salon's opening hours, but Tracie's Hair and Beauty kept its doors open for some very special clients overnight.
Spike the dog was one of those VIPs, relishing in the opportunity for a bit of pampering while his family, the Browns, took shelter at Annandale Central Shopping Centre in Townsville.
Nicole Brown, her husband and two children were among dozens who spent Sunday night camped out in the centre, which became a makeshift evacuation centre, after having to leave their flooded home.
"Our house flooded quite quickly … it went from water in gutters to in the house in one hour," Nicole Brown said.
And at the end of what Ms Brown said was a "very big and scary adventure", Tracie's Hair and Beauty was their first port of call.
Because, as it turns out, a hair dressing salon is perfectly equipped to act as a crisis centre.
"I knew I had hairdryers and I had a clothes dryer to get people's clothes dry," owner Tracie Davis Nieass said.
"I had tea, coffee and plenty of cups.
"So I came over — a couple of clients and a former staff member came down to give me a hand."
Ms Davis Nieass and her partner Gavin Beckman did their best to make the shopping centre as comfortable as possible for evacuees.
"There would have been 50 to 70 people turn up," Mr Beckman said.
"Dogs, cats, birds, cockies, you name it."
Some of the people made their way to the centre on their own as flooding intensified in the region, while others were brought in on the back of dump trucks after being rescued from their inundated homes.
While it was not an official evacuation centre, word soon spread about Annandale, with local residents stopping by to bring in supplies.
Blankets, swags, towels and homemade toasted sandwiches were dropped off to comfort people who were settling in for an anxious night.
Ms Brown and her family were able to move on to a relative's house on Monday morning, but Ms Davis Nieass told the ABC she expected dozens to remain at the centre for at least another night.
"Some people have lost absolutely everything," she said.
"A kid getting off a dump truck with only a backpack, it brings a tear to your eye."
Ms Davis Nieass was due to start her second week of radiation treatment on Monday after a recent cancer diagnosis.
But with Townsville Hospital impacted by the floods, she chose to channel her energy into supporting displaced residents.
"The main thing is getting dry — getting some fresh clothes and shoes on your feet," she said.
"It's been chaotic, but it's been good."
