Musikids forced to seek other arrangements after building on Gateway Island is inundated by floodwaters

Musikids has been forced to find alternate venues after the flood, which came about when thunderstorms, which swept across the Border on Sunday morning, knocked a tree onto powerlines and shut off power to it and other businesses in the precinct.

Owner Kathryn Pyle was left to rustle up help at short notice from families of students she teaches, but the damage was already done before the pumps were back in full swing.

"We spent the majority of last week, especially Saturday, preparing for the water to rise," she said.

"The power outage meant that we had no power at Gateway Village and of course the pumps stopped working. All of the rain water and ground water flooded through Musikids. It was inundated.

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"I called in some help from Musikids' families and by 11.30am we had everything cleaned out from inside and the carpet was removed. We had full carloads of electrical stuff as well as other sentimental stuff taken home to my residence."

Ms Pyle said the business was caught off guard by the power outage as checks on the pumps are undertaken by the SES every three hours.

The pumps were shut off for a second time on Sunday at around 6.30pm, but Ms Pyle was again able to rally support.

"Because we'd been through the process on Sunday morning, we could quickly put things in to play and get that water away," she said.

"It came back on about eight o'clock and then we were out of here.

"It's the Gateway Village tenants and SES that are doing this. We don't have to be here, but we are.

"You've got to find ways or reasons to do something, not to stop something. I think that's really important to keep moving forward."

Ms Pyle met with Hothouse Theatre operators yesterday who agreed to provide her an area where she can teach her classes for the remainder of the year, while nearby Self Wellness and Community also offered her a room to work from if required.

"The community here at Gateway Village really looks after one another when we need and it's really good," she said.

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