Family whose homes were washed away in devastating NSW floods presented with $20k to help rebuild their lives

A mother and son, whose homes were dramatically swept away in the recent NSW floods, have each been presented with $10,000 each to help them rebuild.

Colleen and Keegan Jones watched as both of their homes were washed from their foundations and destroyed in the Hunter region town of Dungog in late April.

Since then, Ms Jones has been living at the local pub, the Bank Hotel, while Mr Jones has been living with friends.

Stevie Jacobs and the TODAY team visited the town today to present Ms Jones with a cheque after she was nominated by her friend Nicole.

In a surprise move, Jacobs also presented Mr Jones with a cheque for $10,000 to assist in his rebuild.

Mr Jones said he was “overwhelmed” by the generous gesture.

“I’m staying friends at the moment and looking to buy a new house,” he told Jacobs.

“This’ll help a lot.”

During the wild storm, Mr Jones bravely entered floodwaters to rescue his mother as she and her dog clung for life to a tree branch.

“I’ve never seen water like it,” he said.

“The adrenalin was pumping.

“I didn’t even think, I just ran into the floodwater.”

Nearly 90 homes were damaged and destroyed in the town after more than 300mm of rain sparked flash flooding.

The donations were provided by Inner-Health Plus and TODAY.