![Lauren Mackley, who lives on Rosemary Street, said the flooding was "heartbreaking". Picture by Gareth Gardner Lauren Mackley, who lives on Rosemary Street, said the flooding was "heartbreaking". Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/150521478/2a5c852f-b457-4aba-8fdd-6afbb7d9e70a.jpg/r0_0_4975_3179_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
FINDING emergency accommodation, asking for help and preparing for the worst has left Gunnedah residents exhausted as they face another flood clean up.
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It's a task that has become second nature for many homeowners after the sixth flood in the last 12 months pushed through the town.
Lauren Mackley, who lives on Rosemary Street with her partner and 18-month-old daughter, said the ongoing flooding meant her family was struggling to maintain any sense of normality.
"It's getting to the point where we are exhausted and it's just too much," she said.
"There's just that anxiety and that stress.
"You just can't sustain it, we as a family can't sustain it. It takes so much energy, it's just heartbreaking."
Ms Mackley's property started flooding on Friday night and by Tuesday morning there was 10 centimetres of water through the whole house.
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Unable to remain at home, the family stayed with her sister in town before moving into emergency accommodation.
"It's not humiliating, but you wear out your welcome pretty quickly," she said.
"You feel silly that every time there's a flood you've got to ask for help."
When the Mackley's purchased their home they knew they were buying in a flood zone, but they never anticipated they would face this much flooding in such a short period of time.
When they moved into the home, the family renovated to do as much flood-proofing as possible, by tiling and moving powerpoints.
And in preparation for the major flooding over the weekend, furniture was lifted.
"We will continue to live with our stuff up," she said.
"But we've got a small child, so that's a safety issue."
On Bloomfield Street, Ian Johnson is one of the lucky ones, his property is usually the last to go under and the first to dry up when the water recedes.
![Ian Johnson, a Bloomfield Street resident, said floods were just something you learnt to live with. Picture by Gareth Gardner Ian Johnson, a Bloomfield Street resident, said floods were just something you learnt to live with. Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/150521478/56e79155-19f1-4430-b808-2d6128af122a.jpg/r0_0_3951_2613_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mr Johnson said the floods were just something he had learnt to "put up with".
"There's nothing you can do about it," he said.
"You can sell and move somewhere else but we've been here for 32 years. We don't want to move."
Flood waters inundated Mr Johnson's yard, but everything had been raised in his carport to avoid any damage.
"But as soon as we put them back down we've got to put them back up again," he said.
More than 80 people sought assistance from the emergency evacuation centre at the Gunnedah Showground from Saturday until it closed on Tuesday.
![Evacuation centre volunteers Ula Lightfoot, Beryl McCormack, Peter Hall, Noeline Broomfield, Martini Moran and Wendy Carpenter Evacuation centre volunteers Ula Lightfoot, Beryl McCormack, Peter Hall, Noeline Broomfield, Martini Moran and Wendy Carpenter](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/150521478/1a012917-6dcb-46ef-a917-7b271b26f80a.jpg/r0_0_5568_3712_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Centre manager Noeline Broomfield said more than half of those people were relocated to crisis accommodation at hotels and motels in Gunnedah.
Ms Broomfield said she was glad to see so many people utilising the service, after concerns there were mixed messages about what the facility would provide.
"I think that some of the problem initially was people seem to think that there were camp stretchers here and they would be sleeping in this great big hall," she said.
Ms Broomfield said although she believes the people of Gunnedah were "incredibly resilient" some had reached breaking point.
"We've had people who have been sleeping in their cars and they come in and just burst into tears," she said.
"They're just so exhausted and there's too much happening."
Livestock housing assistance, food and food vouchers and clothes were also available to residents thanks to the Red Cross and St Vincent de Paul Society.
Some volunteers from the evacuation centre have been reallocated to Moree and Narrabri.
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