Hi there, my name is Ted, and I am fundraising for our family, local farmers, neighbours and community to help rebuild and restart their lives after the results of devastating storms and relentless rain. The floods have swallowed our family farm in Coraki, wiping out all the crops along with my brothers family home and our family house where myself and my 2 brothers grew up.

 

Despite trying to sandbag and protect their homes, the water started to come in from every direction. Very quickly the water was in the house and though the garden, my family then watched as their two-story home was submerging in flood water, before using the boat to collect essential belongings and evacuate to safety, leaving their homes not knowing what they will return to.

 

The water hasn't gone down yet, and we haven't seen the full extent of the damage, it may be weeks until we understand the full impact. 

 

My Dad is a proud farmer who works tirelessly all year round and along with many other farmers in the Northern Rivers area are having to coming to terms with the loss of crops and future income as well as having to navigate the personal effects that the floods will have on their homes and families. Once the crops have been underwater they can’t be recovered, there are going to be unimaginable losses across the industry.

 

Three buildings full of equipment have been flooded. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of machinery have been damaged, including Tractors, Harvesters, Sprayers etc. What was 12ft high sugar cane crops only last week are now nowhere to be seen, fully submerged under the flood water and unlikely to survive. It is difficult to fully comprehend the destructive impact of the flooding, as wild weather and dangerous flooding continues its becoming increasingly clear that everything my family has worked so hard for is being washed away.

 

Similar to many families living in the Northern Rivers area, our home and business insurance do not cover damage from floods as Coraki is a flood risk area. To put into perspective, our home is built well above the 1 in 100 year flood level and has been completely consumed by the flood waters. There is always a risk of floods. Having never been heavily affected in the past, my family is absolutely stunned by the current situation and the speed at which it occurred.

 

If you can please donate, the amount is irrelevant. The money helps but the gesture and support goes further than you can imagine.

With a baby due to arrive in a few weeks and the uncertainty of the ongoing situation, every cent will be used to start the long and heartbreaking clean-up process and to support not only our family but also other local farmers, our community and neighbours start the long process of rebuilding their lives and get back on their feet sooner. The damage caused by these floods will take months, if not years to recover from. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.