FEBRUARY 27, SUNDAY NIGHT, 8PM: Marsden had an ocean. The homes of Tamarind Street had waterfront views and lightning struck as nearly a year’s worth of rain peppered swollen creeks in the Logan River catchment.
In the distance, 100 metres across what was a grass paddock, the water edged close to the outside walls and carpark of the Marsden Park Shopping Centre.
The banks of Scrubby Creek, which were usually hidden by a treeline across the paddock, were indistinguishable when the creek peaked early Sunday morning at 11.4m, putting families on edge.
Cut-off from all sides, the Barratti family was stranded on the second-floor of their home on Tamarind. The balcony gave the best vantage point for them to watch in awe as one of Logan’s most significant floods since 1974 engulfed their home.
The treacherous conditions were braved only by a lone inflatable boat of first responders clad in bright yellow and armed with paddles, who checked on residents in the street. They yelled out to the Barrati’s from below to say the family were safe to ride out the night.
Nematullah Barratti watched in disbelief.
“We barely got any warning it would be come this quickly,” he said.
“We were sent one warning in a message, but we didn’t realise what the flood would actually do because we’ve never seen one before.”
Days later, the reality was still sinking in.
“As our first experience dealing with this kind of thing, we were really shocked,” he said.
The water crept higher than one metre, claiming the whole ground floor of his family’s home, he said.
It took them three days to get on top of the cleaning and to sift through what could be salvaged.
“Our couches, carpets and our beds downstairs all went under, and my brother’s car was destroyed,” he said.
Thankfully, Mr Barratti said his trusty blue sedan miraculously still works and will be back on the road in no time.
