For the last few days, the only sentences I have heard the hubby utter has been "flood", "once in 100 years", "arrgh no once in 200 years", accompanied by a whole heap of "oh no" and sighing, every time the TV has been turned on. We are people who have been sheltered from the vagaries of nature all our lives, hence it has been hard to get a grasp on what has been happening around us. Hardly had we recovered from the news of Brisbane devastation, when we realised that Horsham was next on the hit list. One minute, the river is flowing calmly and the next you know it is has broken its bounds like a rebel child. The sheer dread and apprehension that ran in the people was something so palpable.......but yet not easy to understand if you haven't been in Horsham the last few days.
Phones have been ringing, messages left on my wall, friends enquiring anxiously about what's happening.......and most of them from a ravaged Brisbane......in the light of what had happened to them, this was hardly in the league of such devastation but still the sheer amount of water that people kept bailing out of their properties to safeguard their houses was something a drought stricken Horsham had not seen in decades. Isn't it true, when it rains, it always pours.......Lady Bountiful had indeed been extremely generous to Horsham :(
I have been here only 9 months, but am amazed at the amount of battering this tiny town has taken. I entered the town when it was plagued by mice......everywhere u turned, u were greeted by stink and droppings. Then when people were ready to heave a sigh having wiped them out, there came the locusts. Yep, I can see you saying "so what"? For the unwary out there, do not ever drive into a town that is plagued with locusts if you do not want your car to look like a battered vehicle out of a sci-fi movie. I was perhaps too quick in admiring the gossamer wings of the locusts in the twilight till I was snapped out of my dreamer's reverie and had to look at them for what they were, especially when your windshield is at the mercy of a swarm. Forget about them being a driving nuisance, they were every farmer's nightmare, given that Horsham is mainly an agricultural town.
Then came the rains atleast by when most of us were grateful that the harvest were done. Sadly there is trouble with the storm water drainage in this town which meant you have a solid downpour and you are forced to sandbag your property the very next day. The unprecedented downpour unfortunately caused every creek, stream and river to overflow and then came the floods :( The danger of floods have receded in Horsham, however other nearby towns are taking a beating as we speak.
I have heard of the biblical plagues that the Lord sent down to afflict the land of Egypt, wonder what his agenda against Horsham was this time. The Black Saturday fires was yet another tragedy this town had to endure two years ago. It is sad to see that the residents of this town have been exposed to one problem after the other with no respite in sight. However I also have to say that every single time this town has taken a beating, it has rallied back, bounced back with its resilient community spirit to stand for each other in times of need and support.
Mmm, who said country living was quiet living????
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