THE six months since the January floods have been a tumultuous journey back to their homes for many residents in the Ipswich suburb of Goodna.
Around 600 homes were affected by the disaster, however locals estimate only about one in 20 residents have now moved back in.
Ipswich councillor Paul Tully says it has been a very slow process for homeowners.
“People are still angry about insurance holders who will never pay out,” he said.
“Another problem we have is interstate or overseas landlords who haven't done anything and cannot get support to do repairs.
“So there are a lot of empty homes, which is a bad image for the suburb.”
Cr Tully's home was flooded and he has now moved to higher ground.
He says he doesn't know what he will do with the damaged home he has abandoned.
“It's one of those rare times in politics when you have been through the same problems that all the residents have,” he said.
Goodna resident Ian Surawski says he never really left his home.
“I stayed with a friend while it dried and then I camped back in the place and have been working ever since,” he said.
“The house is pretty well organised and I'll probably be finished painting the interior in two weeks.”
The retiree says he was not covered by insurance but is pleased with the assistance he received from community groups and the government.
“After six months of constantly the same thing you are certainly hoeing the same ground,” he said.
“You definitely get to the point where you have had enough of it and I'm hoping to have a break.
“You wouldn't want this to hang around for 12 months but I guess that is the situation for a lot of people.”
The operation of Wivenhoe Dam and the effect it had on flooding has been the subject of scrutiny at the flood inquiry.
Ted Bradley believes the dam gave people a false sense of security over the threat of flooding.
“It was a bit traumatic with everything going at once and it's pretty full on when you get flooded out,” he said.
“You realise nothing's going to stop Mother Nature when she gets fair dinkum.”
Mr Bradley said he was the first resident to move back in on the Brisbane Terrace stretch of the river when he returned in May.
“We were insured with APIA who were great and we couldn't have asked for better service,” he said.
However, he said things hadn't gone so smoothly for many people in the area and a full recovery was still a long way off.
“People think because it's six months on everything is rosy – well it ain't rosy,” he said.
Examples of the long haul ahead abound, such as a section of land roughly 30 metres long and 10 metres wide that collapsed into the Brisbane River.
The land was situated behind the Goodna Rugby League Club, which has now had its back fence moved in by council.
Club president Gary Parker said he was at the site when the slab of earth collapsed.
“I felt something move and jumped out of the way before the land fell in,” he said.
The club was wiped out by the floods and owes its fast recovery to the State Government and the Sunrise show, which organised for tradesmen to repair the clubhouse.
“If that hadn't happened then we would still be really struggling,” he said.
