The delightfully warm weather in Kiama on Christmas Day was just the calm before the storm - which left a trail of destruction to be mopped up on Boxing Day.
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About 10pm on Monday, a sudden downpour hammered the BIG4 Easts Beach Holiday Park, causing the creek at the site to immediately overflow.
It was the fastest staff had seen it rise in at least the last decade.
Torrents of water gushed through the park and while no one was injured, NSW State Emergency Service crews rescued a family-of-four who were trapped in knee-deep water inside their caravan.
Brian Smith, who owns a cabin at the park, was grateful his guests had left only an hour beforehand, otherwise they would have been trapped there.
He was asleep when the storm touched down, waking up to "half a dozen calls" from his family in a nearby cabin. Mr Smith quickly got up and put on his thongs to assess the calamity.
"I walked out the front and saw people panicking," he told the Mercury on Tuesday.
"There were people that were very worried, you know, thinking about options for their kids about how to get them high."
His cabin was spared from the flash flooding, but the same can't be said about his Mini Cooper, which was left with six inches of brown water left in the foot wells and is likely to be an insurance write-off.
Others at the park spent Tuesday morning trying to air out their soaked clothing, while staff hustled to clean up debris.
A few cabins down, closer to the creek, were couple Kristin Matthews and Darrell Bryson, with their daughters Hallie, nine, and Zara, 11.
They said the water came down hard and fast but eased soon after by about 10.30pm, creating excitement and a "Christmas the kids won't forget".
"It came all of a sudden, we were all in bed and my husband got up to go to the fridge and said, "Oh my God, we have a beachfront," Mrs Matthews said.
"Everyone got so scared but we all calmed down," Zara said.
Fallen branches became stuck at a bridge causing the creek to overflow and block access to the other side of the park.
The fast-moving water took a boat and a trailer with it, which became wedged under a foot bridge and was yet to be removed.
Director of BIG4 Easts Beach Holiday Park, Jenny Drummond, said this caused "major havoc" in a few areas where sites became inundated, especially tents.
"Our staff have procedures in place where we need to evacuate sites and get to people as quickly as you can," Ms Drummond said.
"No one was injured and that's the main thing. Everyone was safe and had a dry bed that night. We did accommodate several families into other accommodation.
"We had some that went to friends' places that lives locally and others found a motel and have come back today.
"It's very disappointing for people that it happened on Christmas Day and they wait for these holidays every year."
Holidayers praised the park staff and NSW SES volunteers who sprang into action.
Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
