"THEY knew there was trouble coming," the late Laurie March told the ABC in 2015, recalling the sense of urgency ahead of the 1955 flood that took 14 lives, inundated 5000 homes and destroyed 31 at Maitland.
The destruction of the flooding rains in recent days have been devastating to behold, particularly up the coast from the Hunter where weekend rain stole livelihoods and homes. In our region, it provided an immediate litmus test for flood mitigation measures implemented in recent years. For many areas, it is testament to how important and well-planned they have been.
Lorn and central Maitland residents watched the muddy swirl of the Hunter River rise at the weekend, but flood levies bolstered substantially in recent decades held their ground into Monday to ensure memories of the 1955 devastation remained just that. At nearby Testers Hollow, however, history repeated. The low-lying dip of the road disappeared beneath flood water. As this newspaper's front page attested at the weekend, even a small overflow can conceal enormous structural compromises for such a roadway. The state government's plan for the road, to lift it 1.5 metres, is slated for a 2023 completion according to Roads and Maritime Services.
Once relatively rural areas, these are now major thoroughfares given the enormous expansion of Maitland and surrounds in recent years. That growth shows little sign of abating. As City of Newcastle shows with its $3.3 million works to improve Wallsend's resilience to flooding that began in January last year, it is often these disasters that can deliver the clearest business case for change. Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery pointed to inundation during both the Pasha Bulker and 2015 storms in her calls for the widening of Ironbark Creek, and was no doubt relieved that the area escaped the worst effects of the deluge so far.
At the same time, lucky escapes are not proof that no improvements can be made. Heavy rain rarely leaves Dungog untouched, while townships including Hinton and the rural suburbs spanning out from Raymond Terrace can often find themselves cut off until the waters subside. This century has already made the Hunter uncomfortable with devastating storms. As Gladys Berejiklian noted on Monday, NSW is facing disasters regularly. We now know trouble is coming - the question is how we plan to handle it.
