Road in Abernethy was cut for two days

Howells Road resident Michael Bloch said the storm was ‘the same as before only worse,’ as parts of the road regularly flood in times of rain.

A tree was knocked down at the top of road, and rainwater created a river across the road, which meant residents could not get out until the tree had been cleared two days later and the water had receded enough to drive over.

“If it wasn’t the trees it was the water that was impassable,” Mr. Bloch said.

The river also knocked over Mr. Bloch’s fence and ripped the posts out of the ground, which was the fourth time in five years this has happened.

“It’s gone through there like a hurricane and taken everything in its path,” he said.

Mr. Bloch said he is not sure what the answer is, but believes there needs to be some sort of drainage pit installed to catch the rainfall and prevent pooling across the road and into properties.

The intense rainfall also created large potholes in the road, which Mr. Bloch said a fellow resident fixed himself out of his own pocket to allow the road to be driveable.

“If we didn’t have him living in the street goodness knows what we would be doing to get in and out of the street,” Mr. Bloch said.

Water also gushed down the side of the road, decreasing the amount of room that cars now have to drive on.

“You can’t have two cars driving down the street at the same time,” he said.

“We’ve basically effectively got one lane,” he said.

While he understands that council cannot be held responsible for the weather, Mr. Bloch said something needs to be done about the issue.

Mr. Bloch said he is willing to work with council to fix the issue, but cannot afford to keep repairing damage himself each time.

“I can’t be forking out for new fencing every time there is a storm,” he said.

Mr. Bloch said it has gotten to the point of the residents fearing the worst whenever there is bad weather.

“Every time it rains it’s a cause for concern,” he said.

“If it’s not the road, it’s the fences, if it’s not the fences it’s something else.”