BYRNES FAMILY SACRIFICE HOME… Aerial view of the levy banks that were built around the town of Euabalong, saving the entire town except for one home that couldn’t be saved
We all know that country folk are some of the hardest working and resilient people on the planet, and the tiny town of Euabalong have proved that they breed them extra tough.
The residents of Euabalong knew that they faced an epic battle as the flood waters edged closer, but they rallied together to save their town.
Local residents Erin Dooley and her husband Patrick Byrnes lead efforts to build a levy bank to surround the town. Patrick put in a mammoth effort, working 14 hour days for 2 weeks, and at one point working 36 hours straight.
The original levy was breached on the Saturday. Erin and Michael had to make the heartbreaking decision to sacrifice their own home, to save the local hotel and the rest of the town. At midnight on Saturday, they started work and did not stop for 36 hours, building a levy bank that surrounded the town, and it worked, the levy held the flood waters at bay!
Erin recounted that 49 residents remained to fight the flood waters, while 18 residents were evacuated due to age and medical conditions. “It has been a full scale operation ever since, including cooking and cleaning rosters, levee bank patrol, ordering of supplies etc,” said Erin.
Erin and Patrick now face rebuilding everything that they have personally lost. The Byrnes family home was built 6 generations ago by Patrick’s grandfathers’ grandfather, and his family has lived in that house for 144 years. Along with his fully renovated home, Patrick also lost a week’s wages and everything in his shed, a tractor, two sentimental vehicles and a couple of sheep.
“I am so proud of my husband and the sacrifice he made. The way this community has come together is like nothing I have ever experienced in my lifetime,” said Erin.
ROAD CLOSURES DUE TO FLOOD WATER…The town was bracing for the worst but worked tirelessly to prevent it