Hampton Park resident is flooded with apprehension

THE past nine months have come close to breaking Trevor Goyal. At one stage, the Hampton Park resident felt so ill he didn't know if he would wake up in the morning.

"I couldn't breathe. I was lying in bed and I didn't know if I would ever get up again. I had infections in my ears and throat. I couldn't eat. I had diarrhoea. I lost a lot of weight."

Like many other members of a Casey flood support group, Mr Goyal believes his sudden deterioration in health is a direct result of the floods that swamped Hampton Park early this year.

On February 5, at the height of the floods, he had sewage bubbling out of his shower and through his Robjant Street house.

Afterwards, he did his best to clean up.

"I had heard how so many people got sick after the New Orleans floods so I tried to hose everything down.

"I was using a bucket and disinfectant to try to stop the mould growing."

A study of New Orleans after the 2005 floods found that mould grew in almost half the houses that survived the floods.

The health impacts appeared many months afterwards, ranging from upper respiratory infections and asthma to irritable bowel and behavioural changes.

Mr Goyal suffered two serious chest infections, the first in March and the second a few weeks later.

By May, three months after the floods, he was still waiting for his insurance company to assess his claim.

"I knew if I waited any longer I would die. I finally rang Allianz - I was just bawling my eyes out - I spoke to a woman and said, 'Can you do something for me?'

"She said 'Yes, we're going to issue you with a cheque'. I got the cheque and I've been cleaning up ever since."

When Mr Goyal removed plasterboard and skirting boards he could see mould growing up the walls and he's still tackling that with fans and disinfectant.

He has no floor coverings and little furniture. He has also amassed a lot of bills while he has been ill and doesn't know how he will pay them.

But his health is improving gradually. He can eat more and is beginning to put back some weight.

Joining the flood support group has also helped.

"Instead of concentrating on what I haven't got, I've been trying to concentrate on what I have got.

" I get up in the morning and I try to think my health's good.

"But there's a long way to go, not just for me but for a lot of people."