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Katie Woolf spoke with Gary Higgins on the Daly River Flooding · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf thanks to Joyce Main, Dowin
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  Speaker 1: homes On and Stuart Highway Berrima.
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  Speaker 2: We know that there's certainly all eyes on the Daily
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  Speaker 2: River region at the moment as the water levels continue
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  Speaker 2: to rise. Joining us on the line right now, Gary Higgins,
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Gary.
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  Speaker 1: Morning, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: How are you good?
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  Speaker 3: Mate?
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  Speaker 2: How good is it to have a chat to us
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  Speaker 2: just as a regular punter, not in your political role?
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  Speaker 1: Much much more relaxing, I think, for you have to
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  Speaker 1: worry about what I.
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  Speaker 3: Say exactly Gary, how things going?
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I understand that the Daily River region's really
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  Speaker 2: on alert at the moment, keeping an eye on those
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  Speaker 2: water levels.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Look, The thing that people need to realize, of course,
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  Speaker 1: is that the people down there are very used to
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  Speaker 1: this happening on an annual basis. On in the last
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  Speaker 1: couple of years they haven't had to go through this,
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  Speaker 1: but normally at the beginning of the work season, everybody gets
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  Speaker 1: ready for the flooding the changes down there over the
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  Speaker 1: last few years, knowing that the community really doesn't get
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  Speaker 1: cut off till we get to about thirteen meters. So
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  Speaker 1: that's the Weather Bureau of course, is saying they'll get
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  Speaker 1: to moderate flooding. I think by about Friday night, which
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  Speaker 1: will be over that thirteen meters I know from history
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  Speaker 1: looking back at some of the river heights, I think doristyle,
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  Speaker 1: which is about three days or four days from the daily.
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  Speaker 1: That's the amount of time it'll take for the water
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  Speaker 1: to get down. It's close on twenty one meters. Twenty
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  Speaker 1: one meters you know, normally would equate to about thirteen
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  Speaker 1: thirteen and a half meters a daily. But I think
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  Speaker 1: we have to remember if they predict more rain in between,
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  Speaker 1: that of course will increase.
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  Speaker 3: That's where it becomes a bit boring, isn't it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that can happen very quickly. The houses, most of
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  Speaker 1: the houses in the community are above fourteen meters, they
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  Speaker 1: don't get flooded. There's probably half a dozen or a
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  Speaker 1: dozen that do below that. But the issue there is
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  Speaker 1: that you get crocs going around everywhere. Like crocs come
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  Speaker 1: out of the main part of the river, they get
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  Speaker 1: in the slow flowing bits of the river, which of
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  Speaker 1: course around in the community. So with all the kids
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  Speaker 1: down there, that's to worry, and the thing is how
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  Speaker 1: do you get them out? So I know emergency services
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  Speaker 1: have sent some boats down to boat people out. I
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  Speaker 1: think at the moment it's a matter of the communities
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  Speaker 1: having a meeting this morning, and it'll be to encourage
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  Speaker 1: as many people as possible to you know, see if
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  Speaker 1: they can go and stay with relatives out of the
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  Speaker 1: out of the community while they can drive out and Gary.
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  Speaker 2: The other concern always is when, because I mean the
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  Speaker 2: daily river, we sort of keep an eye on it
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  Speaker 2: every year. I guess you'd say if we have a
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  Speaker 2: fairly good wet season. But the other concern is it
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  Speaker 2: takes a while for all that water to then go
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  Speaker 2: away if the community does become flooded, doesn't it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Look, it takes nearly two weeks for the water
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  Speaker 1: from the upper reaches of the Katherine River to actually
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  Speaker 1: come all the way down through the river. So you're
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  Speaker 1: looking at, you know, a good two weeks that that
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  Speaker 1: river potentially could be sitting at that twelve to thirteen
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  Speaker 1: meters at least. You know, when it goes up, it'll
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  Speaker 1: go up and then it may come down, you know,
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  Speaker 1: a couple of meters reasonably quick. The plus side, of
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  Speaker 1: course is it'll be good fishing. But you know, and
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  Speaker 1: the river needs is to be able to have that
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  Speaker 1: good runoffs and good fishing. But the thing is, there's
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  Speaker 1: the downside to everything, you know, no matter what what
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  Speaker 1: good you've got, there's always the bad around and that's it.
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  Speaker 1: But I think, you know, people are quite aware of
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  Speaker 1: what's going to happen. You know, if they have to
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  Speaker 1: get evacuated, you know, they're always bought into the Hosky pavilion.
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  Speaker 2: You know.
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  Speaker 1: I presume government could do the same. I always pushed
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  Speaker 1: to actually have a school and an evacuation center built
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  Speaker 1: out there, and it was costed. But you know that
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  Speaker 1: hasn't come to fruition yet. Maybe it will.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, but wait insane.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, but it's a if I can just say
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  Speaker 1: it is a very stressful time when the river is
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  Speaker 1: like that. I know people will be you know, especially
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  Speaker 1: some of the caravan parks be lifting beds, chairs, everything
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  Speaker 1: up was to have all furniture that was we knew
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  Speaker 1: could go into the water the lakes. But yeah, you know,
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  Speaker 1: you a fridge sitting on a dining room table. There's
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  Speaker 1: a lot of food gets wasted everything, and you know
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  Speaker 1: that of course, you know, just adds pressure, especially now
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  Speaker 1: we've had all the COVID stuff and the tourist parks
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  Speaker 1: down there a pretty lousy season, So you know, if
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  Speaker 1: it it gets as high as it did in sort
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  Speaker 1: of twenty eleven, and I think it was the same
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  Speaker 1: in about twenty sixteen, it was nearly nearly fifteen meters,
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  Speaker 1: so it doesn't look like it'll get to that, but
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  Speaker 1: that can cause them a lot of financial problems o
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  Speaker 1: hundred percent.
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  Speaker 2: So it sounds like it's very anxious weight at the
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  Speaker 2: moment for a wait and watch, I guess you'd say
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  Speaker 2: for the for the residents around that way.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, there'll be another three or four days before they
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  Speaker 1: get a clear picture of the amount that's at Doris Valle.
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  Speaker 1: It'll take four days for to get down, so you know,
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  Speaker 1: provided they don't get too much rain between now and then,
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  Speaker 1: you know, it may not be too serious, but it's
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  Speaker 1: still a concerned.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Gary Higgins, it's always wonderful to catch up with
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  Speaker 2: your mate very quickly.
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  Speaker 3: What have you been up to in retirement?
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  Speaker 1: Well, I've joined the very Spring Seniors group.
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  Speaker 3: Have you good on you?
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  Speaker 1: And then I'm spending a lot of time making salami cabanossi,
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  Speaker 1: brewing my own beer, eating eating fruitcakes and cups of tea.
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  Speaker 1: I think you're being cut down. Actually, I think Ronda's
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  Speaker 1: worn out on that one.
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  Speaker 3: You live in the dream.
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  Speaker 1: We had a relaxing day yesterday. Was there forty eight
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  Speaker 1: wedding anniversary?
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  Speaker 3: Oh? How lovely.
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  Speaker 1: A mark for lunch?
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  Speaker 3: Oh that is lovely?
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  Speaker 2: Oh mate, Well, congratulations to you and Ronda. Your wife
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  Speaker 2: Ronda is an absolutely lovely woman. And you're a good
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  Speaker 2: bloke yourself too, Gary, mate. It sounds to me like
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  Speaker 2: you need to bring some of your homemade food into
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  Speaker 2: the studio.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well I could bring bring some. Mean, you know,
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  Speaker 1: I'm not a person to push alcohol, but the beer
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  Speaker 1: is good. Yeah, well it can last long, it wouldn't.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's lovely to talk to you this morning, Gary Higgins.
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  Speaker 2: Let us know how things are going out in the
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  Speaker 2: daily region, and we'll probably talk again in the coming days.
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  Speaker 3: It on you, mate, Thank you, Gary Higgins. There.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, sounds like he's thoroughly enjoying retirement. But I know
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  Speaker 2: that lots of you who listened to the show obviously, no, Gary,
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  Speaker 2: forty eighty years for he and his wife Rhonda. What
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  Speaker 2: a lovely thing to hear this morning.