In the four years she had lived in Hooke Street, Rhonda Rolfe has never seen water higher than her back step.
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But it all changed in the early hours of April 21 when her rented Dungog home had water up to the eaves.
The 49-year-old went to bed at midnight on April 20, saying it was raining heavily but felt she had nothing to worry about.
“My three daughters usually live with me but they had gone to the respective partners over the weekend and that night,” she said.
“The lady next door Jane Winiarczyk came banging on my door as she does every time we have heavy rain. Even when we had the Pasha Bulker storm in 2007, it only got up to the back steps.
“I said the SES weren’t out knocking on doors as they usually do but I still went out to the back door, put the light on but couldn’t see any water.
“I went back to sleep and this time it was Tim Irwin who was knocking the door telling me the water was rising.
“The SES still hadn’t come around and because I have only moved out once since I’ve been here and didn’t have to, I said it was okay and went back to bed.
“I don’t know how long I was asleep for but I woke up to the chest of drawers next to my bed floating and hitting me on the head.
“I got up and the water was up to the middle of my calves.
“I went out the back of the house to get the cages for my two cats and got as far as the kitchen when a gush of water tipped the fridge over.
“The door slammed shut and I was locked in the room.
“I don’t know if it was a rush of adrenalin, but I managed to get the door open and slip out into the front part of the house.
“The water was up to my shoulders by now and when I got to the bedroom, the cats were on a mattress floating near the ceiling.
“The water was so strong and I couldn’t get the front door open so I went to the lounge room window, just managed to get it open and slip out through the water.
“When I swam to the top of the water, it was just up to the guttering.
“I managed to get on the roof and there I stayed for two hours.”
Tim Irwin saw Rhonda on the roof and rang triple-0 but it was over an hour before the SES came along with the boat to save her.
“I was so cold,” Rhonda said.
“In the last half hour my fingers and toes were blue and I couldn’t speak and I thought about getting back into the water as I thought it would have to be warmer.
“I have never been more pleased to see Ron Studdert come along in the SES boat and take me to the Bank Hotel’s bottle shop.
“I couldn’t walk and Eileen [Clark] came and looked after me, got me into the shower and gave me clean clothes.
“Other people came along with warm blankets and slippers . . . their generosity was overwhelming.
“Even since the terrible storm and consequent flood everyone has been so good to me, down to furniture, food and a place to live.
“When I moved into my new house in Lord Street, people would drop off things on my verandah.
“I don’t know who they were but I have never felt so blessed and so grateful I live in this wonderful community.
“Saying thank you doesn’t seem much, but it comes from the bottom of my heart.”
And another good ending to Rhonda’s story – her cats survived – albeit very wet, injured and with significant weight loss from trying to hang onto the inside vents when they were on the mattress near the ceiling.
