How $15 spent on blow-up pools from Kmart have prevented residents losing all their belongings as flood waters devastate Townsville
- A group of men used the pools to move goods down flooded streets
- The $15 Kmart pools transported their goods to a removals truck
- Thousands of dollars worth of furniture saved by putting them in the pools
- Other residents in the surrounding areas have followed suit with great results
Resourceful residents of flood-stricken Townsville have found a thrifty way to save their cherished possessions, using cheap inflatable kids' pools to prevent their belongings being lost to the rising waters.
A group of brothers living in Hermit Park in the flood zone bought the pools from Kmart for $15 and used them to transport their goods down the flooded streets to safety.
And a young Australian Defence Force couple, who can't be named, loaded their belongings into a blow-up pool within their own house - keeping them dry even as the filthy water crept ever higher.
Brothers (pictured) living in Townsville's flood zone have showed residents in surrounding neighbourhoods how to use a $15 inflatable pool to save their prized possessions
Their car was gone and the water was rising inside their home so, initially, the couple lifted all their furniture onto their kitchen counters.
With a return to work looming, they realised the counters may not be high enough, so they piled their goods into the inflatable pool.
The couple was then able to return to army duty for a 24-hour shift saving others from the floods, knowing their belongings would be safe in the pool even as the water rose.
Share this article
'Thousands of dollars of our stuff saved by $15 pools. We're feeling pretty good about it,' added another man WIN interviewed (his things pictured here)
A local man living on the same street spoke to WIN about his own use of the inflatables (pictured)
The brothers came up with the clever pool plan on Wednesday when they, along with a couple of mates, moved house using the pools to float their belongings to a waiting moving truck.
'If we didn't get it out today the mould was going to start destroying everything,' they said.
'The house is in a state. It had been a metre-and-a-half inside, 30cm above the door handles. The walls are falling apart, it smells bad and everything is covered with sewage and mud.'
On Thursday they will all be back at work and living in a new home in a flood-free suburb.
As one of the band of brothers put it: 'You can be part of the problem, or part of the solution and a $15 inflatable pool from Kmart is the cheapest flood insurance you'll ever get'.
As one of the band of brothers put it: 'You can be part of the problem, or part of the solution and a $15 inflatable pool from Kmart is the cheapest flood insurance you'll ever get' (picture of the floods from social media)
Residents have been trying to put back the pieces in their communities after the horrifying rainfall levels (picture from social media)
'We managed to save a lot of our furniture in inflatable pools. So we're looking to try and get it out now because it's getting pretty mouldy,' she said (picture from social media)
Speaking to WIN News, another woman in the area showcased the inflatable pools in action.
'We managed to save a lot of our furniture in inflatable pools. So we're looking to try and get it out now because it's getting pretty mouldy,' she said.
'Thousands of dollars of our stuff saved by $15 pools. We're feeling pretty good about it,' added another man WIN interviewed.
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
