
It's been six months since bushfires tore through family farms, communities, and towns, as Australia suffered through the worst bushfire season in our history.
As the news cycle has moved on to the next crisis, a global pandemic, Australians in regional towns across NSW and Victoria continue to quietly struggle, everyday, as they rebuild their lives in wake of the inconceivable damage left behind.
Thousands of people now live in caravans or tents, where they survive without the basic necessities including water, heating and toilets.
On Monday night, ABC's Four Corners investigated how the residents of Cobargo are dealing with the aftermath of the black summer.
Watch the trailer for the Four Corners episode on the recovery of the bushfires here. Post continues below.
On New Year's Eve, Cobargo was one of the towns on NSW's south coast that was engulfed with red skies as a firestorm decimated their homes and businesses.
Six months on, there is no running water. The town predominantly relies on water tanks that are donated.
"People are using bottled water or they're bringing in 20 litre containers of water to fill up here at the showground. And that's all the water they've got, because their whole water infrastructure has been burnt," Chris Walters, from the Cobargo Bushfire Relief Centre, told Four Corners' journalist Stephanie March.
Not only is that water used for drinking, but washing too.
One resident, Ronnie Eagles, explains how she has been going to the bathroom since her house turned to ashes.
“I did dig the old-fashioned toilet,” Ronnie explains.
“I can put a tree in it afterwards and close it on in, and I’ll have a good tree then,” she jokes.