Reporting by Danielle Cahill
Owner of Yea River Cottage, Joseph Ettia, has been assessing his property for water damage following yesterday’s flood which was the second in 15 months.
“This was a big shock, it came in pretty quick this time. Didn’t have time to move things around," he says.
‘“I just thought ‘not again, not again’.
"It’s just the stress of, I have got bookings and I might have to ring and cancel."
Joseph’s cottage is raised but he lives in a caravan at the back of the property next to the river when the cottage is hired out.
Yesterday all of his personal belongings, which are kept in the garage, were destroyed by water.
“I’d say this time, it’s caused more damage because my fence is leaning over, my fence is completely down on one side,” he says.
“And my garage, everything in the garage is all wet. Yesterday I saw in the garage, my desk, my fridge was floating."
A neighbour alerted Joseph that his property was flooding while he was at work.
The evacuation warning issued but Joseph chose not to leave.
“I felt like I had other things that I couldn’t get out and all my clothes all my personal things were inside," he says.
With the water quickly rising to about chest height, he says he was stranded on his deck but had a plan if things got worse.
"If I needed to, I would’ve left it all behind if it (the floodwaters) had got into the house – and just swam out."
In October 2022, when the last flood hit his Yea property, Joseph only had home insurance and no contents.
He now has both but he's questioning if he will stay at the property long-term.
"I mean if it happens again, I’d be devastated. I’m in the middle of thinking ‘should I live here? should I sell up’?”