Great Southern storm: Farmers forced to use tinnies to rescue struggling, tired sheep from floodwaters

Stranded sheep have been rescued from floodwaters by farmers driving boats after the chaos of the ferocious storm which wreaked havoc on WA’s south coast. Great Southern farmers were forced to take extreme measures to try and save their sheep from drowning after the shock weather event left their farms flooded on Monday. Newly-germinated crops and valuable livestock were washed away with wind gusts of up to 100km/h and 100mm of rain falling between Albany and Denmark. At Youngs Siding, potato growers and sheep farmers Justine and Chris Ayres were forced to evacuate about 25 sheep to higher ground after finding them stranded on a bank. They used a dingy to get around the farm and were devastated to find about 150 dead and 50 shivering on a bank, with water rising, and others clinging to trees. “We were so shocked to find the sheep up on the banks and nearly underwater,” Ms Ayres said. “We could see a few trying to swim, and we could see a lot that had drowned and I just could not believe it. “When we first got out there I was just in shock, I was in disbelief, and was a bit teary seeing how many had died and were floating in the water.” The Ayres’ inventive sheep rescue started when they decided to roll the surviving sheep into the boats. “It was really difficult to get them into the boats, because of the water in the wool makes them twice as heavy,” Ms Ayres said. “I had to do the one-two-three trick and we had to push the sides of the boat down and roll the sheep in without tipping the boat over. “We rolled about seven sheep at a time and took them to a higher point about 100m away.” The Ayres home farm at Bornholm sustained minimal damage but their Youngs Siding property on Sleeman Road was inundated with water. Elleker resident Colin Glazbrook spent more than four hours in chest-deep water hauling sheep into a dingy and towing the boat by hand to save his and his neighbour’s sheep. Mr Glazbrook and his partner Kathy Kviesitis retired to Elleker about six years ago and live 2km down Woodides Road, where nearly all of the 12 or so properties along the road have been inundated with metre-high floodwaters. Mr Glazbrook described the past few days as “a blur”. “We have never seen anything like this before. We have been so busy rescuing sheep, we have been chest deep in water trying to lift sheep into a boat to ferry them to higher ground,” he said. “It was really horrible, it was three or four hours chest deep in freezing water to try and save them. “We were just dragging the boat along and it was 500m to put them at higher ground.” Mr Glazbrook said there were times when the sheep rescue seemed futile, with only one to three sheep fitting in the dingy at a time. “They were big and wet, and just shivering so much that they didn’t move when we came over with the boat,” he said. “The sheep were the back of the farm at a high point and then the water kept coming up, so in the afternoon we decided to get the dingy and try and grab them. “We just pulled the dingy along.” Mr Glazbrook said he had been overwhelmed by the community spirit shown by those on Woodide Road, with locals phoning each other and checking in on each other. One of those locals was Rohan Shirley, who set out in his dingy in the depth of night on Sunday. The local resident had been taking his boat up and down Woodides Road to do welfare checks on local residents late last night, when he found a neighbour lady named Pam shivering in her home. He took Pam to a neighbour’s house at higher ground, and the next morning he and Mr Gimm rescued another local called Derry and his dog, before taking them to another neighbour’s house. Youngs Siding farmers Darren and Narelle Burrow, who run the Mason Valley Angus stud 30kms west of Albany, said the 67mm of rain that fell between Sunday afternoon and early Monday morning had created very wet paddocks. The couple were both clearing trees off fences on Tuesday but felt fortunate to have avoided major damage to the farm or their cattle. “We had trees down and the paddocks are very wet and there was a small lake in one, which has had time to recede,” Mr Burrow said. “Luckily we had just finished seeding, we’re just checking on our cows and making sure the fences are standing. “Nearby gravel roads including Meanwood and Rosedale are flooded.” Elleker residents Mechelle Harvey-Gimm and Jeffrey Gimm’s home has provided somewhat of a reprieve for residents on Woodides Road in the small locality. Water is lapping about 10m from their house, which Ms Harvey-Gimm said was “one of the lucky ones” in the area with about eight acres underwater but the homestead safe. She jumped in a kayak on Monday afternoon but the wind was so strong she could barely move. “We have never seen anything like this,” he said. “Jeff borrowed a little float boat and dragged it through the water. Our sheep were near a tree that had pushed a fence over and their little noses were just above the water. “They were scared. Jeff grabbed one at a time and put them in the boat and tied their legs so they couldn’t jump out of the boat.” Ms Harvey-Gimm said she was amazed by the country spirit in the area and thought nothing of opening her doors to neighbours she had never met before. “Everyone is helping each other, and making sure that each other is OK,” she said. “People been going up and down in their boats and bringing people to safety. There are all these amazing, unsung heroes that have done the most amazing job to help others.” Torbay farmers Ross and Noelle Smith, who farm 25kms west of Albany, received 151mm of rain from Sunday to Tuesday. “It blew a gale knocking trees over and we have had up to half of our 50ha block underwater,” Mr Smith said. “We sorted all the trees over our fences to keep our 50 head of Angus contained. “With some roads flooded, now we need to try to find a way to drive to town.” Homes were flooded, roads and trees washed away, and thousands of families were left without power in Albany and Denmark after the storm tore through. Albany SES crews attended more than 170 storm-related jobs between Sunday evening and Tuesday morning, with 14 SES crews of five volunteers working on calls for help. Albany SES manager Robert Boyes said crews have come in from Perth and the South West to help with an enormous task. “We have about 46 outstanding requests for assistance and there are the still the few odd ones coming in as people discover things,” he said. “Initially the vast bulk, 60 per cent or so, were flooding. “As the wind came in they started to be more trees on cars and houses, roofs gone.” Grain Industry Association of WA crop report author Michael Lamond said some farmers’ paddocks were about 50 per cent under water and others that had sections of paddocks “completely washed away”. He said waterlogging was starting to be a “substantial” issue in the Albany area. “This extra rain we have had is going to have a substantial effect on the final yield due to a loss of crop and waterlogging,” he said. “We have not had something like this for a while. Crops underwater for a certain amount of time cannot recover. “The reason yields has been so high in those areas for the past few years is because we have not had waterlogging.” On Tuesday, South Coast Highway was closed between George Street and the Denmark-Mt Barker Road. The Lower Denmark Road was expected to remain closed for several days.