In the town of Forbes in NSW's Central West, locals speak of nothing but the flood.
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"Talking about anything else is forbidden," said Pip Perry, a third-generation Forbes resident. "You have to talk about the floods."
His wife Sally made it out to the supermarket at 4pm on Wednesday, as news that the town would flood was spreading - only to discover empty shelves.
"It was like panic buying: there were no car-parks, everybody's trolleys were full, there was no bread on the shelves," she said.
Somehow - despite the closed roads - the supermarket had been restocked by Thursday morning.
The couple live a few kilometres out of town and just metres from the mighty Lachlan River, which they expect to overflow in the next day or two.
Pip can "vaguely" remember the great big flood of June 1952, when he was just six years old. "That was a biggie," he said.
"We were on the farm (out of town) and had a bunch of cousins who came and stayed with us because it was flooded."
Army Ducks arrived in town en masse to help locals who, like now, were prepared for the worst.
Those floods of 70 years ago had a big impact on town planning. When the Perry's built their home on the Lachlan River in 2006, they were required to put the flooring half a metre above where the 1952 floods had been.
"Those 1952 floods are very much a benchmark of what can occur when the river bursts," Sally said. "Even if you weren't here at the time, everyone is aware of it."
When we speak on Thursday morning, they are in the middle of putting sandbags up against the garage doors. The local RFS officer has just visited their delightful home on stilts.
Half expecting him to ask them to evacuate, they are relieved to hear him give a tick of approval to their preparations and cheered that help is nearby in the form of a boat rescue up the river if needed.
"If we were to evacuate, it's unlikely we would be able to move back in for two or three weeks - and we are prepared for floods," Sally said.
The deep freeze is full and up on a table, the larder is full, their medicines are restocked, the shed is clear and the sheep and horses have been moved to a nearby hilltop location.
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But the Perry family are most concerned about local farmers. Yet again, flooding is causing devastating crop losses on the cusp of what could have been a bumper harvest, particularly of canola and lucerne.
"They can't get onto them to harvest - and even if they could, they would just end up tearing up their farms," Pip said.
It's not the first time the Perrys have been stuck in their home for days on end, with just the pack of cards, dog Mally and four chooks to keep them company - and it probably won't be the last.
"That's the price you pay for living in the best part of the country," Pip said.
Kate Cox
Kate Cox is Head of Content and Head of Travel for ACM. She loves asking questions and telling stories and has been a journalist and editor for more than two decades.
Kate Cox is Head of Content and Head of Travel for ACM. She loves asking questions and telling stories and has been a journalist and editor for more than two decades.
