Australia Weather News

The tiny community of Palmers Island in northern New South Wales has rallied around two residents left homeless after a super cell storm.

The two-storey homes of Dennis Knock and Julie Hardy, in Gordon Street to the north east of the village, had their top floors destroyed in the storm earlier this month.

Both residents have been taken in by friends until their houses are repaired to a safe enough standard for living.

Mr Knock said he felt thankful to be alive.

"I looked out the window and saw a great wall of water coming towards me, and as I was looking out the back the hail started coming down and the wind started coming up, and all of a sudden the roof was on my head," he said.

"I was pinned to the kitchen sink.

"I looked down and there was blood coming out of my leg and blood running down the side of my face."

Across the road, Julie Hardy was in the shower when the storm hit.

"Next minute, I thought the exhaust fan was playing up but it was actually the storm coming," she said.

"Then my roof lifted off and I shut the bathroom door very quickly because I could see debris flying towards me.

"I sheltered in the shower and came out to see my bedroom practically gone, except for the floorboards.

"The shower saved my life."

Neighbours first to respond

Neighbours were the first on the scene at both properties to help Mr Knock and Mrs Hardy out of the collapsed buildings.

"They came rushing from everywhere and helped me down, but I was OK," Mr Knock said.

"I only had a couple of scratches."

Mrs Hardy said she was standing in a bath towel watching her personal possessions fly through the sky when the first neighbour arrived.

"One of my neighbours scurried onto my bed, picking up any jewellery he could find and all of my very treasured possessions that my late husband had bought me," she said.

"It was a beautiful thing he did.

"I had great neighbours that came in and were extremely worried about me.

"I could see the anxiousness and the pain on their faces."

Yamba State Emergency Service unit controller Wayne Fraser said the storm caught everyone by surprise.

"I was sitting at Yamba and we got a phone call from someone in Coffs Harbour saying 'You're about to get hit' and we laughed it off," he said.

"Twenty minutes later, when we got out to Palmers Island it looked like a scene from the American tornadoes.

"In actual fact, there were only two buildings severely damaged and three or four moderately damaged."

Insurance a matter of luck

Mr Knock said he thought his property was insured, but he discovered this week that it was not.

"When I was supposed to renew my house insurance, I broke my leg and was in hospital for a month so I forgot to get back to them and nobody reminded me," he said.

"It was bad luck, but I've got some savings, luckily.

"And I've got great friends.

"I just need to put it back together now, only it will be put back together to withstand storms."

Mrs Hardy said she thought her property insurance had lapsed, but she felt lucky to find out it was still current.

"I've had insurance for years but I found one had lapsed and I was on tenterhooks waiting to see if I was covered," she said.

"I found out I was insured and the company has been very supportive to me."

Damage causes no bitterness

Mr Knock, who recently suffered a stroke, said his home could easily be repaired.

"My house and Julie's house stopped the rest of the village being devastated," he said.

"We copped the main thrust of the wind and stopped it from going straight down the street.

"I've been through a lot in my life and I'm still alive so that's all that really matters."

Mrs Hardy, whose husband Glenn Hardy died of multiple myeloma (bone cancer) last November, said the loss of her home was insignificant compared to losing a loved one.

"You can't be bitter about weather," she said.

"The only sadness I have is a personal one after losing my husband.

"This house is still my home and that's what we shared.

"I could lose my house 200 times and it wouldn't compare to losing my husband."