Tumbulgum residents caught unaware flood was on its way
TUMBULGUM was hit hard on the Australia Day weekend when the Tweed River broke its banks.
Many residents were caught unaware as their homes were inundated by flood water.
Questioning why they had insufficient warning to safeguard their property, they called a meeting with the SES last week at Tumbulgum Hall.
Murwillumbah SES unit controller Chris Chrisostomos said 45 people came to the meeting.
"We have taken their concerns on board," he said.
"From this we hope to implement some strategies for the future.
"But we did give three days warning prior to the last floods.
"A lot of people left it to the last minute to take precautions."
Mr Chrisostomos said flood gauges had also played up in the period before the floods.
He said some of the six gauges had problems with accurate readings.
"There were a lot of mitigating circumstances that led to property damage," he said.
"Added to this, we have a limited number of volunteers covering a very huge area.
"We can't be everywhere at once, unfortunately.
"But we will do what ever we can to address these problems in the future."
Establishing flood wardens to alert residents of impending floods was one of the suggestions made at the meeting.
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