Park reopens after flood devastation

ONE of the Surf Coast’s worst-hit accommodation sites has reopened to visitors, weeks after flash flooding tore through Lorne, sweeping vehicles into the ocean and forcing hundreds to evacuate.

Cumberland River Holiday Park manager Ram Nunez welcomed guests back on Friday after a three-week clean-up effort. The site was buried under knee-high sludge and debris that required heavy machinery to remove.

“It was really a big challenge, but we were able to surpass that,” Nunez said. “We are really excited to reopen…and we look forward to welcoming back the familiar faces and the new incoming guests.”

There were more than 300 guests staying at the caravan park last month when 180mm of rain fell on the township in just six hours.

Warnings escalated rapidly and the low-lying campground was quickly inundated with floodwaters.

Nunez had been monitoring the rainfall readings through the morning and managed to evacuate the site’s riverside campers to higher ground before the deluge hit.

 

 

 

“After about five minutes, we saw it with our very own eyes: the logs, the water and the debris,” he said. “I’m afraid it would have been a different story if we were a little bit late [evacuating].”

A Black Hawk helicopter was called in to lift about 14 vehicles from the beaches and rocky outcrops around the Cumberland River as the recovery effort continued over several weeks.

Nunez watched the complex operation unfold from the ground.

“It was like a movie,” he said.

 

 

 

The closure of the campground, which was fully booked until the end of January, has taken a significant financial toll on the family.

“It was really unfortunate, but at the same time, we are grateful that no one was injured and there’s no casualties,” Nunez said. “Material things can be regained. Life is much more important.”

With the park now open to guests, the Nunez family will turn their attention to their own home, which is also situated on the campgrounds and sustained heavy damage in the floods.

“We haven’t checked our personal items yet,” Nunez said. “It’s guests first before ourselves – that’s hospitality.”

 

 

The family has spent the last three weeks living in one of the cabins at the campgrounds that was unaffected by the flood. It has made for a challenging start to the school year for Nunez’s children who are both under the age of six.

“As they say, this is not survival of the fittest, this is survival of the most adaptable,” Nunez said. “We are flexible and adaptable to any situation.”

“In every crisis, there’s an opportunity. So, it’s an opportunity for us to restart and refresh the park.”

He said Lorne P-12 College had been quick to rally around the family, taking care of important supplies to give the family the time they needed to coordinate clean-up works at the park.

“It’s like a big family coming together and helping one another,” he said.

 

 

“They took care of us – everything – from the new bags, the school supplies, even the food.”

Several businesses across Lorne are still feeling the impacts of what has been a horror start to the year, with many reporting a drop in revenue during what is an important tourism season for the township.

But Nunez is optimistic about the months that lie ahead.

“We would love to invite all of our guests and everyone else to visit the Great Ocean Road, to visit Lorne,” he said. “This is a prime spot. We are safe here.”