Wayne Dorey is one of tens of thousands of people who lost their houses, cars and livelihoods in the nation’s mass flooding event this year.
The father of two’s two-storey North Lismore home, a car and belongings were destroyed.
The 32-year-old, his partner Caroline Dwight and their daughters Rhani, 5, and Romy, 2, escaped with just one bag of clothes for the children, his work vehicle and the family car.
He said there were no words to describe the devastation but said the area looked like a war zone.
“It’s really frustrating. This water level that’s inundated our home is like nothing anyone has seen before,” Mr Dorey said.
“You could hear people’s screams from rooftops that weren’t in a position, like us, to get out.
“We’re living minute by minute … We’re starting all over again.”
The family, like most people in the area, didn’t have flood insurance, which would have cost about $72,000 a year.
They are now residing at Ms Dwight’s sister’s home, something Mr Dorey said was a distraction for his young children who were around their cousins.
“We haven’t taken the kids back down (to the house) because it’s not something we want to put them through,” he said.
“All their things are gone, everything they knew – their beds, their clothes, their toys – is gone.”
Mr Dorey has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to restart his family’s lives and buy essentials like nappies and bedding and find a temporary container home to live in to give his children “some sort of normality”.
The father said supplies in the areas were so scarce he needed to travel to other regional towns to find resources for his pest control business.
Peer-to-peer car-sharing platform Car Next Door has offered a solution to some of those severely impacted by the floods and struggling to get to work, take children to school or buy supplies by offering a $50 credit to book and use any car through its platform until May 30.
The company, which was recently acquired by Uber, will also give $250 to people whose undamaged vehicles in those areas are shared with others through its service.
Mr Dorey said using the service was a great help to hire a van to buy basic tools that he needed for work.
“Without that ability to go get materials, I wouldn’t be able to do these jobs and try to bring in some sort of income and pay for basics,” he said.
Car Next Door sent 20 cars from Sydney to northern NSW and Queensland to support people without a means of transport.
“So many local people have lost their cars and everything else in the floods and are now struggling to get around,” the company’s product co-ordinator Fiona Wells said.
“If you have a car that you’re not using every day, please consider sharing it with others in need.
“Sharing through the Car Next Door platform is safe and simple. All borrowers are screened and things like fuel, fines or tolls and damage cover are taken care of.”
The severe weather events lashed parts of Queensland and NSW in February and March, causing the natural disaster that killed 22 people.
According to the Insurance Council of Australia, more than 9600 motor vehicle claims have been made in Queensland and more than 8200 in NSW.
For more information about Car Next Door’s initiative, visit the website.
