Bronwyn Betts vividly remembers the morning when floodwater swept her cattle away.

It was late January 2024 in the Samford Valley, north-west of Brisbane, and Tropical Cyclone Kirrily had been feeding severe storms in south-east Queensland .

"There was no warning at all," Ms Betts said.

"The river was very low at the time. The rain started at 12:30am and persisted unrelentingly until around 5am.

"The water rose very quickly, and it fell very quickly."

When the family finally reached a paddock of their droughtmaster stud, they discovered devastation.

"It became evident very quickly that many were missing,"

Ms Betts said.

Between her property and a neighbour's, 29 head of cattle had been swept into the river.

Looking for livestock

In the days that followed, the community rallied.

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