00:00Normally we're a peninsula, and frankly that's the way we like it, but at the moment one
00:06of the local creeks has overflown the road, and because there's only one road in and out,
00:11you can kind of get out, but you know, it's a risky thing.
00:14I think if the SES was here, they would actually tell nobody to actually cross what is fundamentally
00:21a current across the road.
00:24So that's actually, that's a worry, yes, we are in Hawaii an island, and people are coming
00:29in and out, but they're really doing something probably that is dangerous.
00:34We're just hoping that the weather changes tomorrow to see if the water can recede.
00:39Yeah, absolutely, we should not be driving through floodwaters, that's for sure.
00:43Just tell us a little bit about Kurarong, Emilio.
00:46For those unfamiliar, where exactly are you, and how many people live in town?
00:50Right, well, Kurarong is in the Jarvis Bay area, in the Biggeroth Peninsula.
00:56About 400 to 500 people live here permanently, and of course, a lot of people have holiday
01:01houses here, and during the summer period, the population probably is five or six times
01:07that amount.
01:09So the population is also quite ageing, okay, which makes the idea of being isolated even
01:17more worrying.
01:19We're actually very disappointed in Hawaii, because even though governments and councils
01:23are not responsible for extreme weather events, this particular issue about the creek overflowing
01:30is something that is preventable.
01:32The council has a solution for it, but it says it has no funding, and Kararong is not
01:37a priority.
01:38So we would actually like to ask Shoalhaven Council, please, please, please rise the road
01:44day, because this has actually happened six times in the last 18 months.
01:49And how have you managed the last few times that the area has flooded?
01:53Well, people, I think people take a risk, mostly take a risk.
01:57The people that have big four-wheel drives are probably taking less of a risk.
02:02They are residents that don't have high costs, and I guess they rely on other people to go
02:08and do things for them.
02:09But as I said, the population is actually ageing, and people need to go to the doctor, to the
02:13pharmacy.
02:14It's not always possible for them to actually do it.
02:17So normally, this actually stays for two or three days.
02:21This time it might be a little bit longer, because it's still raining.
02:24It's still raining and very windy here.
02:27You've obviously got power yourself now, but have you lost power over the last couple
02:32of days?
02:33Or seen much damage?
02:34No.
02:35Fortunately, we haven't lost power.
02:36This is a thing that has not actually happened, which is actually good, because that would be
02:42like the icing in the cake in terms of being isolated and not having power.
02:48But we're just really hoping.
02:49Today, the wind is actually being horrifying here.
02:52Yeah.
02:53Do you have any idea how long you might be cut off?
02:57You said it's still raining there.
02:58So what is it going to mean for people over the next couple of days?
03:01Right.
03:02Well, traditionally, when the creek overflows the road, it stays like this for two or three
03:08days.
03:09It depends when it stops raining, but it's also because it's a tidal creek, it also depends
03:13on the tide.
03:14When it's high tide, there's actually more water flowing.
03:18It's an issue that really has to be addressed.
03:20I mean, there's actually, we have a single road to come to Kararang, and there's flooding everywhere.
03:25But this is more than flooding.
03:27This is actually a current, a river, like a little river that is actually taken over
03:32the road.
03:33And I'm very concerned that people are crossing, but they shouldn't be crossing.
03:38But on the other hand, if they have something to do, they have to actually attend to what
03:44they have to do.
03:45So I would really call on Chokhaven Council, please fix that bit of the road.
03:51You have the engineering work done.
03:53All you have to do is see it as a priority, because really, in a community that has one
03:58road in and out, it's hard to believe that this is not a priority.
04:01So that's this is a priority.
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