Family lives off the land during floods

A family cut off by floods for more than a week in WA’s remote North have told how they were forced to live off bush fruit and fish for three days after supplies ran dry.

Last Thursday, the Red Cross, Department of Fire and Rescue and Shire of Broome organised a helicopter to deliver food and water to their isolated Dampier Peninsula property, 190km north of Broome.

Lyn Howard, 55, her children Terrence, 28, Chene, 22 and Danny, 18, and grandchildren La’Varntaii, 7, and Jeremiah, 4, were the grateful recipients of tinned food, bread, powdered milk, water and toilet paper.

Ms Howard said the flood waters prevented the family from walking to nearby communities, forcing them to live off the land and sea.

“We caught our own seafood and ate bush food like Gubinge just so we had something to eat—I wasn’t going to let my grandchildren starve” she said.

“We just went about it and did what we had to do, but were very excited to be able to eat something other than fish.”

As of 2pm, the Broome to Cape Leveque Road, which services the Dampier Peninsula, was closed to vehicles in excess of four tonnes, as well as road trains.

Pick up the February 15 edition of the Broome Advertiser for the full story.