A week ago, floodwater was a metre high around some buildings at St Mary’s Primary School Mooroopna and principal Anthony Butts was expecting the worst when staff returned.
“I was just assuming our grounds would be full of debris, classrooms with water inside them and worried the clean-up might be a lot longer than what it is,” Mr Butts said.
“We were lucky.”
Mr Butts was relieved to find water didn’t enter school buildings, which were built above the 100-year flood level, and students were welcomed back after more than a week on Wednesday.
The school had safety and utility checks ticked off, and the SES brought in high-pressure hoses to clean the silt and mud away from the grounds and car parks.
“What really amazed me was the force of the water flowing past the school — it wasn’t a gradual rise, it was a real torrent of water,” Mr Butts said.
He said local knowledge of long-term residents had been really useful in the lead-up to the water arriving.
“We only had a short amount of time to get ready on the Friday (October 14) when we were notified, but that was really invaluable to know roughly where the water would go,” Mr Butts said.
“Most importantly now is everyone in our community is safe, and our priority now is to really focus on wellbeing of the students and their families.”
Mr Butts said about 15 of the school’s families were severely affected by floodwater inside their homes.
“We’re rallying our school community to assist with things like school uniforms, and we’ve started up a roster for school lunches, so the parents don’t have to worry about packing a lunch for them,” he said.
“We’re also putting together hampers with practical necessities and some treats as well to give the families a bit of a lift.”
Mr Butts said the school appreciated the concern shown by those who reached out and offered support.
“We’re very thankful to the people who co-ordinated the emergency services and the response, and along with the local community groups, the response by the community was nothing short of outstanding,” he said.