The road to recovery

Floodwater laps the bottom of a fire truck and tractor in Corindi on Australia Day.

LEISA and ROB Quay

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• Flood levels don't add up

RESIDENTS of the coastal village of Corindi remain elbow-deep in a huge clean-up effort after being hit by the biggest flood seen in the area for decades.

A number of homes in the upper Corindi area were inundated by flash flooding on Australia Day after a torrential deluge battered the region, with reports of more than 150mm of rain drenching the area in a matter of hours.

Brian Taylor, 68, has lived in the Corindi area his entire life and said he only knew of one flood in the area which had come close to the one on Australia Day - and that was almost 70 years ago.

"There was a similar flood - maybe even a bit bigger - I believe around Christmas 1943," Mr Taylor said.

"But this was certainly the biggest one I've ever seen here and I've lived in the area all my life."

Mr Taylor, who has been busy since Australia Day repairing flood-damaged fences on his upper Corindi property, said the talk around town was that about 635mm of rain hit the Corindi area in the few days around Australia Day.

The home of Corindi resident Rob Quay was one those affected by the torrent of water which swept through the area - he was out working at the time when he got a call from his wife saying the creek near his house was coming up fast.

"By the time I got home there was probably half an inch of water in the house and it just kept coming and coming - the SES came and took my wife, the dogs and the kids, I was still there and by the end we probably had 10 inches in the house," Mr Quay said.

By the time the water had subsided, the Quay's home had suffered extensive water damage and yesterday he was still in the process of cleaning up.

"We've had to rip all the floating floor up, all the carpet - there's also been a lot of damage to doors and cupboards," he said.

Yesterday, the Woolgoolga Advertiser reported a number of Corindi residents suspected road works under way on the Pacific Hwy near Blackadder Creek were to blame for the torrent of water which hit the village and have taken their concerns to Roads and Maritime Services (RMS).

A spokesperson for RMS said an independent flood specialist had been engaged to investigate whether the upgrade work on the Pacific Hwy at Blackadder Creek had affected water levels during the recent flooding.