Before the first drop of rain fell on the former gold-rush town of Gympie in late February, those hunting for a home were becoming desperate.
When the rains came, and the Mary River reached its highest level in more than a century, homes and businesses were destroyed and house-hunters and renters were left with even fewer options.
Gympie was the first to be stricken in the south-east Queensland floods.
But experts say the housing crisis already gripping Gympie will likely show up across all flood-hit regions already under pressure.
We meet the people at the front of the crisis — both on the street and facing the loss of their home — plus those wanting to help.
Few homes to rent, then a flood hits
Rent had gone up $90 a week on average in Gympie in just 12 months, and the price of buying a home had jumped by up to 34 per cent from an average of $385,000 to more than $550,000.
And still the number of homes available to rent was tiny -- about 0.3 per cent. That amounts to one vacancy for every 300 properties in a region of about 50,000 people.
For those paying rent, hunting for a home to let or trying to buy, the figures were dire, in a region where there are 1,798 people on the waitlist for social housing.
CoreLogic national researcher Eliza Owen said there was already "an immense amount of pressure" on those trying to rent, then the floods hit.
"For people trying to find housing at this time, it wipes out additional rental stock," she said.
She said the price of homes in the worst-affected areas might fall slightly as people waited for the recovery. But the same was not true with rentals.
She said after the 2011 floods, house values in some Brisbane suburbs went down by as much as 18 per cent but the cost of renting actually increased.
Ms Owen said it would be an enormous challenge for those areas facing a housing crisis and a natural disaster at the same time.
"I really hope that we start to see emergency accommodation and rental assistance targeted at those areas that have been affected."
Weeks to find a place to live
Brad Metropoulos already knows how it feels to lose everything, including his home.
After being injured at work and needing more than 400 stitches, he ended up losing his job and business.
"The next six months, my wife and I spent in the back of the car with four kids and two dogs," he said.
He sought out a new home in Tin Can Bay, outside of Gympie, but moved again when the place sold.
Somehow, Mr Metropoulos secured a home despite more than 100 people applying to rent the same place.
They finally had a place to settle and the owners were clear that this could be a long-term arrangement.
But things shifted again and the house has sold, with the new owners moving in.
Now Mr Metropoulos and his family, which has grown to eight children, have only a few weeks to find a place to live.
His children are aged between eight months and 21 years.
Mr Metropoulos said it was a return to a traumatic period of his life.
"It's gotten to the point where it's reliving the whole seven years," he said.
"The younger ones don't quite understand – they've just got settled.
He said they would move to wherever they could find a place but was hoping for a local solution.
"There are ample places around here that can be opened up as temporary accommodation for people," Mr Metropoulos said.
'“It's just a matter of everyone pulling together and making it happen I suppose."
Working 9 to 5, living in his car
After days of warnings and flooding rains, Damien Johnson thought he would be safe from the rising waters of the Mary River.
Then it reached his neighbour's house and continued to climb.
"By the second day, the Mary River was starting to peak and it reached the roof of the neighbour's property and had started lapping at the door of our place," he said.
The Gympie tradie has lived out of his car since, while working full-time to help demolish the insides of flood-ravaged shopfronts in Gympie's Mary Street.
"It has been two days since I've had a shower, I hope I don't stink."
Mr Johnson is following the advice of authorities.
He has gone to the Community Housing Corporation and put his name down, only to be told his wait is likely to be long one.
When he lies down in his car to sleep, he's not the only one without a safe roof over his head.
He said by midnight, there were people walking the main street finding somewhere sheltered and dry.
"I've seen a family in sleeping bags, just camping on the side of the road."
Sleepless nights
When more rain fell on Gympie a week ago, Janzey Pratt stared at her ceiling – then went for a drive.
The real estate agent said she had been enduring sleepless nights worrying about who still had nowhere to go, more than a month after the town was destroyed by floods.
"Now they would have all got flooded and completely saturated again with that downpour, and they just keep moving because they're not feeling safe."
Ms Pratt said she did not know how many were sleeping rough but "stopped counting at 100".
She has helped raise $14,000 through community support, but said while it would help, there were practical solutions being ignored, including allowing people to stay in vacant buildings.
"Let's just get it done. Why do we have to stand around and talk. Why do we have to form committees? People are hurting. People need accommodation.
"They've had the photo opportunities, they've all come in, everyone feels sorry, puts a sad emoji on social media, and everyone walks away."
Former caravan park site
Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig said the council was exploring how it could provide some form of accommodation, including at a former caravan park site, but the plan was in its early stages.
"Hopefully in the next week or two, we can let people know exactly what the short, medium and long term plans are," he said.
"I'm trying to control my excitement, but until it's official, we can't let anyone know."
