In early February 2019, far-north Queensland was hit with one of its worst floods on record.
While Townsville and other parts of far north Queensland experienced unprecedented flooding, local businesses went to extraordinary lengths to support their local communities.
The situation saw the city of Townsville and surrounding areas enter crisis mode, with hundreds of homes suffering irrevocable damage and two people losing their lives.
It was a catastrophic situation, with the aftermath of the floods set to take years to recover from.
Momentum Media platforms My Business and Lawyers Weekly reached out to their readers in the region to find out more and hear how they were coping.
Bringing out the best in local businesses
While Townsville and other parts of far north Queensland experienced unprecedented flooding, local businesses were going to extraordinary lengths to support their local communities.
My Business readers were eager to share the stories of generosity on display during the crisis and give recognition to business owners who were digging deep to help others in need – despite being impacted by floodwaters themselves.
One noted the efforts of Raymond McConville of Totally Rentals Townsville. Despite his own home and business being devastated by flooding, Mr McConville was out using his vehicles and boat to ferry people to evacuation centres and supplies to those cut off.
“Totally Rentals Townsville principal Raymond McConville has been going above and beyond to help the Townsville community during this time any way he can with his 4x4 and team,” the reader (who wished to remain anonymous) said at the time.
“I’ve been following their Facebook page for the past few days and am amazed with efforts put in by the team. Raymond has definitely got the community spirit.
“He’s helped with sand bag deliveries to those unable to collect, helping and rescuing community members who have been stranded (including a boat rescue evacuating four people and two children at 1am in the morning) [and] delivering a fridge and freezer to Bluewater Community Centre to help keep their food safe.”
Despite his own efforts, Mr McConville was keen to highlight the generosity of other businesses, such as his local pizza shop which, he said, ran out of stock making and giving away free food to those who otherwise would have gone without a hot meal.
Another My Business reader cited the generosity of an advertising company that donated advertising skins worth around $50,000 for locals to use as tarpaulins over leaky rooves.
“The action and timing by Paradise Outdoor Advertising was well appreciated by the Townsville community and deserves recognition,” the reader said.
The Queensland floods devastated homes, businesses and land – particularly in rural parts of the state. The heartbeat of the small business community is strong when, even in the face of shattered livelihoods, the best of humanity can find its way to the surface.
Lawyers band together
At the same time, Lawyers Weekly reached out to its legal contacts in the area to gain some first-hand insights into how the community was coping.
Despite the unprecedented amount of rain forcing businesses and courts to close up shop for the foreseeable future, the two lawyers that Lawyers Weekly spoke to offered a glimpse of hope in their voices, suggesting that, if a community works together in the face of tragedy, it can come back even stronger than before.
The statement rings especially true for Mark Fenlon, president of the Townsville District Law Association and senior police prosecutor for the Queensland police service.
While the situation in Townsville was chaotic, Mr Fenlon remained optimistic with joint efforts coming from the local legal profession and the community at large prompting a feeling of confidence that “this too shall pass”.
“I’m aware of at least one law firm that has effectively had to stop for the moment until they work out what they are going to do, because the firm has sustained damage. It got flooded – just from the rain event, not actually from the river rising. But things like carpet being completely ruined, so you can't have clients or staff in there because it's a safety issue and a health issue, so they have not been able to operate,” Mr Fenlon told Lawyers Weekly.
“I’m assuming that there’s probably going to be others in a similar position, but we simply haven't been told about them yet. I know of many lawyers, particularly that were residing in Idalia, one of the major suburbs that’s gone under, a new suburb, and a lot of solicitors lived around that area, and their houses have gone under water.”
Despite having to operate a skeleton staff during much of the flood, and witnessing a number of his staff and legal associates lose their homes, cars and other valuables, Mr Fenlon said the support coming from the state’s legal profession was second to none, explaining that several bodies worked together to ensure losses were rectified as much as possible.
“[Queensland Law Society president] Bill Potts has been very supportive, as has the previous president Ken Taylor, with respect to offers of assistance to our members,” Mr Fenlon said.
“In addition to that, we’ve had an offer of support from Arthur Moses SC at the Law Council of Australia, and PEXA has also made offers to assist our members, and we are working out how that’s going to be sorted at the moment.
“We have been very lucky and fortunate in that the legal community outside of Townsville seems to be rallying around us to offer assistance where it can.
“As I said, in that particular aspect, we are very, very fortunate.”
Bill Mitchell, principal solicitor at Townsville Community Legal Service, echoed a similar sentiment.
When speaking with Lawyers Weekly in the midst of the situation, Mr Mitchell described the flood as shocking and “clearly [one of the worst] in Townsville’s history, maybe the worst floods in North Queensland’s history, and among the worst floods in Australia’s history”.
“We’ve been very lucky, with a couple of exceptions, that there’s been minimal loss of life. There’s been very widespread property damage and property loss, and these are typically along the inner city where it meets the [Ross] river, and other river suburbs,” Mr Mitchell added.
“Other suburbs that are connected to the river with drainage and other water courses, and lots of businesses, have been affected, so it’s not just residents that have been affected, lots of businesses have been affected.”
He noted that consistent communication from the district law association and the ability to utilise social media to speak to clients helped those affected to keep abreast of any updates concerning the devastation.
“I think it’s important to recognise that community legal centres and the private legal profession, through pro bono support, have always been very good at responding to the needs of local communities after disasters, and I don’t think this will be any different,” Mr Mitchell said.