Told to evacuate as rampant floodwaters descended on the small town 25 minutes west of Shepparton, Ismaili did all he could to prepare for the incoming danger, moving his livestock to higher ground and sandbagging his house for the gushing waters.
Returning to his property after the receding water made it safe to do so, Mr Ismaili detailed the scene and surveyed the potential damages.
“Coming back to the farm it was certainly nerve racking as I had no idea what the floodwater was going to do,” Mr Ismaili said.
“The farm is inundated with water, there is probably a foot of water all around the farm.
“My house luckily wasn’t affected by water, which was such a blessing, but the damage to the farm was devastating.
“All my crops are probably going to die so I’ll need to start again, I’ll have to sell all my cattle because I’ve got nowhere to put them, so the financial hit from this will be quite high.”
But while the impacts of the flood were devastating, without the help of his neighbours, the situation could have been much more dire.
In what was an incredible example of the power of community spirit, Mr Ismaili said farmers from across the area came together to ensure livestock was moved to higher ground and saved from the gushing floodwaters.
“I’ve got horses and cattle so we had to move them all, I took all my horse up the road to a friend of mine, who was on higher ground,” he said.
“And all of the cows I managed to find a place for them at a farm in Lancaster, so with the help of the community about 20 of us walked the cattle three hours to safety.
“The help of the community throughout this time has been special, whether it was sandbagging or moving people’s cattle, the town did all it could to help one another.
“It was just fantastic to see and overwhelming.”
Reflecting on what had been an incredibly arduous week, Mr Ismaili said he would have loved to see more support in the Undera area as the close-knit community continued its clean-up effort.
“We’ve had no support from the council, we’ve had nobody come out here and ask us how we’re going, that has been the general consensus from the town,” he said.
“Nobody has really acknowledged Undera as being affected, I know there are a lot of communities in the area severely impacted, but a bit of assistance out here would go a long way.”
