Nikki clung to the gutter in rising floodwater for hours. A kayaker was her only hope for survival | HeathGilmore
Perched on two thin mattresses, atop an antique oak wardrobe near the ceiling, Nikki McGuire kissed her dog Lizzie and cat Max goodbye, before plunging into the rising floodwater inside her living room.
Immediately, the force of the torrent dragged her outside into the early morning darkness, throwing her along her roofline. She flung out a hand to get a last grasp purchase on the gutter, and it stuck. For nearly two hours, as the freezing rain pummelled her, as escaping gas filled her lungs, as the neighbours’ screams tore at her, Nikki McGuire hung on.
The kayaker pointed behind him to where a lady was hanging on, trying to keep her head above water. The man paddled the woman to safety, before he returned, asking Nikki to jump onto the kayak. She told him she couldn’t. Why? Last month, Lismore mayor Steve Krieg presented the catalogue of Wagner’s images to the NSW premier and new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to remind them of the “humans behind any decision made about the Northern Rivers in the aftermath of the flood”.Perrottet has tied his premiership to the Northern Rivers, describing the rebuild of the region as his most important task. He has visited the region five times.
Asked about the photos on his desk which he shows to visitors and ministers, he said: “The pictures in the book brought back the physical devastation, as well as the human devastation, in a way that I think I hadn’t seen before.”The premier and Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin are setting up an exhibition of the photos at the NSW Parliament. Perrottet wants a book published for all MPs and offered for sale to the public.
If you follow the fog into backyards, the rutted ground now has a dusty crust. One quick step off the Hills Hoist path, however, and the surface cracks under your weight, underfoot is still wet, moving, seemingly ready for the next flood to drag everyone down to the river all over again.
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