There was a sense of optimism around Kangaroo Valley when a main road, which was closed for repairs after the March floods, finally reopened last week.
But just 12 hours later Moss Vale Road was closed again, and hope turned to dread.
Parts of Kangaroo Valley received more than a year's worth of rain in just four days.
The weather bureau recorded 800 millimetres in Wattamolla and more than 900mm at Brogers Creek.
The torrential downpour has wreaked havoc on many of the town's already pockmarked roads, and had devastating consequences for residents of Upper Kangaroo River, where their only road was all but washed away.
Sarah Butler was one of 60 residents cut off when Upper Kangaroo River Road closed, and made the difficult choice to leave her home after the flood.
Residents were given a short window of time to get their cars out before the road closed.
"I got out of Upper River and I am staying in the village at the moment because I can't live where I live at the moment," she said.
"People are going to struggle really for as long as this road is not passable."
She said fleeing her home brought back memories of evacuating during the Black Summer bushfires.
"It is a horrible feeling," she said.
"We had to evacuate the bushfires three years ago and evacuating ... from home really brought all that back again."
Geoff Sharman and his son Max have been using a quad bike to help their neighbours whose properties have sustained catastrophic damage.
"What you can see from the road doesn't do it justice, [the damage] is actually back into the escarpment, it is that loaded with water it just can't handle it," he said.
"Steve and Murray, they are up on Perishers Road, they have lost 150 metres of road to 160 metres, sheer escarpment dropout."
He said he hadn't seen rain like that since the 1991 floods, when the valley received sustained rain for nine months.
"The actual damage overall is astronomical to farmers, general people in the valley, local businesses, like it is cruel, it is really cruel, and it is really depressing actually," he said.
"But you keep your chin up and you keep on going, that's the Aussie spirit."
Shoalhaven Council staff have been on-site and managed to stabilise the road so residents could access their homes by foot.
But Andrew McVeigh from Shoalhaven Council, who is overseeing the repair work, said re-establishing vehicle access was still weeks away.
"There are works that need to be done immediately and we are looking for the next four to eight weeks to try and get this road open for one-lane access," he said.
"But to complete the works and to have this road stable and built back to a two-lane road will take many months."
The ongoing weather is creating a logistical nightmare for council, with staff dealing with a growing list of damaged infrastructure.
"Council staff are busy trying to clear slips, we have in excess of 100 slips that we are currently trying to clear," Mr McVeigh said.
Shoalhaven Mayor Amanda Findley said it was hard for residents to continue to put on a brave face when faced with relentless adversity.
"We've got so much disaster fatigue in the Shoalhaven and places like Upper Kangaroo Valley, where the impact has now been rolling for four months, and that is just the floods," she said.
The tourist town was already on its knees before the recent wet weather, but many are now questioning how the village can continue in these conditions.
Caroline Lenati manages the Kangaroo Valley Pub, where local punters are keeping money in the till.
But a shortage of tourists in a tourist town means revenue is down by more than 50 per cent.
"The mental health of the community as well is quite down at the moment," she said.
"I feel for the smaller businesses, they are closing and they are struggling with getting people in because they are based on tourism.
The floods have also created challenges for staff.
"It is hard for staff to get to work so operating on a normal basis is quite difficult," Ms Lenati said
Moss Vale Road has since reopened and the community is optimistic that the community can bounce back from its latest setback.
“We are just really hoping that the weather picks up and the roads get fixed so we can get back to some sort of normal business trading.”
