Sleeping separately between a caravan and their former "house that's now a shell", Eugowra couple Carol and Graham Blackwood will soon have a new "pod" to call home.
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Exactly three months to the day, severe flash flooding devastated several villages across the Cabonne Shire on November 14, 2022.
The Blackwood couple were out on the land early as usual with their sheep farm some 10 kilometres outside of Eugowra - the town hit hardest in the region.
![Eugowra-based couple, Carol and Graham Blackwood said while flood-recovery has been tough, they're also grateful to have survived it. Picture by Emily Gobourg. Eugowra-based couple, Carol and Graham Blackwood said while flood-recovery has been tough, they're also grateful to have survived it. Picture by Emily Gobourg.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/156153420/e716398f-4c15-458f-9a33-1e23880c0f53.jpg/r0_0_4032_3024_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Bar a handful of homes, all dwellings were completely devastated by the deluge, with hundreds of residents displaced ever since.
People have been living in all kinds of different settings - in shipping containers, tents, caravans, cars, or with family and friends elsewhere.
"It's doable but it's been hard," Mr Blackwood said.
"And we're not getting any younger [either], so when you throw that in the mix ... it's been hard."
You never truly realise ... no one thinks that they'll ever be in this position, they truly don't.
- Graham Blackwood on rebuilding after deluge.
Which is why the rollout of the Pods on Private Property Program for flood-recovering homeowners has come as welcome news for many.
Home owners can apply for anywhere from a studio pod size or larger to live in for up to a two-year period while their homes are being repaired and rebuilt.
Formerly known as Resilience NSW, NSW Reconstruction Authority's director for temporary housing, William Gray said for those who were renting their home, there are options.
"Renters can apply [although they'd] need to ensure the owner is involved and gives full permission for that pod to be placed on the property," he said.
"And we're not limiting [the number of pods supplied] based on any level of demand."
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The pods are fully self-contained - equipped with bathroom, dining and kitchen areas.
So far in Eugowra there's been 19 applications for the installations from those with houses deemed as "uninhabitable".
With two pods already placed in the town and another two underway, flood-affected residents across the Cabonne Shire will be able to apply for the Pods on Private Property Program.
"We assess them according to their eligibility and then place [the suitable pod] accordingly," Mr Gray said.
"The caravans were a temporary solution and these pods [on private properties] are the more permanent solution in peoples' recovery journey."
Looking forward to having one of the next pods off the rank, the Blackwood's say the arrival of the temporary homes will be "vital" in supporting people to get back on their feet again.
![A studio pod (above) is the smallest of a range of modular homes with three-bedroom pods also available for those eligible. Picture by Emily Gobourg. A studio pod (above) is the smallest of a range of modular homes with three-bedroom pods also available for those eligible. Picture by Emily Gobourg.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/156153420/748cbb33-9995-4dfe-b052-2f93553ebbef.png/r0_0_1020_573_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The couple's older timber house was filled with water that climbed one-metre-high up the walls.
Those walls didn't survive the inland tsunami or thick mud in tow either, which also included the destruction of both their shed and shearing shed.
"We were caught out with the speed [of the water] and also the height," Mr Blackwood said.
We live by the Mandagery [Creek], so we are used to floods and we can handle them, but this was exceptional.
- Graham Blackwood on November 14 severe flooding in 2022.
Mrs Blackwood said the couple were already out working on the land in the early hours of the morning when the water first came rushing in.
Finding their dog and seeking safety in the shed from the strong current, the pair ended up stranded for more than five hours.
"I could see Graham getting our ewe onto a log to save her but then [the log] went under water, so he ended up carrying her on his shoulders and heading for higher ground," Mrs Blackwood said.
"Graham was up on the roof and I could see him so I knew where he was. I threw him up a banana that I caught floating in the water at one point.
"But I just sat there and waited it out thinking 'is this really happening'?
"It was very surreal and even weeks afterwards, someone would ask me if I was alright and I couldn't talk, there'd just be tears."
![Carol and Graham Blackwood are grateful they "got out of it with their lives" following the November 14 deluge in Eugowra. Picture by Emily Gobourg. Carol and Graham Blackwood are grateful they "got out of it with their lives" following the November 14 deluge in Eugowra. Picture by Emily Gobourg.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/156153420/4d046056-9189-4ba6-a380-b9db5f2ca34e.png/r0_0_1020_573_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
With "basically nothing left" now, the Blackwood's still consider themselves lucky today.
Despite having lost almost everything they'd owned, Mrs Blackwood said they're both grateful to have survived the ordeal.
"We got out with our lives which could've quite easily been a very, very different story," she said.
"I've separated mentally from the damage and I've had to do that in order to manage day-by-day, but everyone deals with trauma differently and we were lucky.
We've also got a pretty good sense of humour to get us by.
- Carol Blackwood on ups and downs of flood-recovery.
To submit an application for the Pods on Private Property Program or to send an expression of interest for the Damage Assessment Program, email the NSW Reconstruction Authority Housing Taskforce at housingtaskforce@resilience.nsw.gov.au or call 1300 003 227.
Domestic pets will be permitted to live with their owners in a pod on a case-by-case basis, with consideration given to the type of animal and if they are suitable.
Access for people with a disability are also available.
!['No one thinks that they'll ever be in this position': Pod rollout for uninhabitable homes 'No one thinks that they'll ever be in this position': Pod rollout for uninhabitable homes](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/37qTRiw9gHRe7AczHzCfjaK/7e7bd059-0cc1-4e5b-9eab-2a44e8b5788a.jpg/r0_0_1984_282_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)