North Bundaberg residents have begun the heartbreaking journey of returning home to assess damage. Source: AAP
RESIDENTS of north Bundaberg have wept either tears of joy or despair after finally being allowed back to their homes after a raging torrent swept through the suburb.
The area, which was subject to an exclusion zone, is considered the worst-hit in the Queensland flood crisis.
Residents were allowed in on Saturday for the first time to assess the damage and collect personal items like wallets, identification and photo albums.
Deputy police commissioner Brett Pointing, who is overseeing disaster recovery operations in the region, said opening the suburb was a key step in helping the community recover.
"I think getting people back into their homes, certainly for them to evaluate the extent of the damage is one of the key milestones," he told reporters.
Superintendent Rowan Bond said the area was no longer considered an exclusion zone, although only residents, volunteers and emergency crews were allowed to enter via checkpoints.
Supt Bond said residents were being asked to show identification in an effort to stop sightseers hampering clean-up efforts.
"In my experience from previous events like this, people find that very undignified and it certainly doesn't assist with their own recovery," he said.
There had been fears bodies may be found in the disaster zone, but authorities on Saturday confirmed thorough searches had turned up nothing.
Supt Bond said it would still be some time before residents could actually return to live in their homes.
Vital infrastructure like power, sewerage and water had been destroyed and had to be re-established, he said.
Residents had to leave the suburb again by nightfall.
Bundaberg mayor Mal Forman said he spoke with residents who had returned from the disaster zone and feelings were mixed.
"There's been one who's said 'I don't know if I'll come back'," he said.
"Another couple have said 'yeah, we didn't get as much damage as we thought'... and they'll go back to get their lives back together."
Meirion Roberts said while most of his house hadn't gone under, the devastation across the entire suburb was unbelievable.
"I felt guilty seeing a lot of the other houses that were worse off," he said.
After four days without money or identification, Eseki Kaitani returned for his wallet, only to find looters had stolen $805 he had withdrawn to use as emergency funds before he was hastily evacuated.
"I can't believe people would do this," he told AAP.
"I haven't been able to feed my children and now I don't know what I'm going to do."
Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott visited the city on Saturday, calling on the government to increase the amount of relief loans offered to businesses.
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