Colleen's comfy in swag at shop

Lakes Takeaway owner Colleen Murphy spent the night in the shop as flood waters rise near Thozet Creek.

Allan Reinikka Rokflood-A

YOU’VE just got to keep on smiling.

Lakes Takeaway owner Colleen Murphy isn’t getting too upset about the rising floodwaters, but she’s certainly getting comfortable.

Colleen runs the fish and chip shop in a closed-off section of Lakes Creek Road, North Rockhampton, and while business hasn’t been overly affected by the flooding, her sleeping arrangements certainly have.

For the past two nights, Colleen has slept in her swag behind the counter at the front of the store.

A resident of nearby Gracemere, Colleen has concerns that if the Capricorn Highway is cut off between Rockhampton and Gracemere she’ll no longer be able to get through to the store.

“We just didn’t know what might happen (on Tuesday). If you get home and it comes up quickly we could be stuck out there.”

While the sleeping arrangements are less than ideal, Colleen said it was a small price to pay.

“In town’s better than out at Gracemere because stores are running low out there. Everyone’s just panicked.”

Lakes Takeaway backs on to an overflown Thozet Creek, which is flowing over on to a blocked off section of Lakes Creek Road.

While the most affected section of road is off-limits, Colleen says a number of drivers continued to run the risk, and she feared someone could get trapped in the racing flood water.

She remains optimistic and is not about to let the flood ruin her upcoming New Year’s celebrations.

While the store is limiting its cold drink supplies to ensure easy removal in case the store gets flooded, the empty fridge space isn’t about to be wasted.

“We’ll probably have New Year’s here. We’ve got an empty fridge that we can use as a beer fridge now.”

The business is currently sandbagged out the back and front of the store in preparation for next week’s expected peak.