- Chloe O'Sullivan
The Long, Long Road to Recovery
On 28 February, Lismore flood levels peaked at 14.4 metres, more than two metres higher than the previous record of 12.27 metres in 1954.
This kind of flooding was well above the town's 10-metre-high levee wall. The wall was built in 2005, and in early 2000 there was a program set up for residents to raise their low lying houses to a height of 12.5 metres - out of the danger zone based on previous floods.
With all these measures taken, this new flooding still devastated the town. Four people died, with 2000 homes destroyed or unlivable out of the city's 19,000 homes.
Lismore and Northern Rivers residents came together, as they always do. More than three hundred people, now affectionally known as the Tinny Army, saved more than 4000 people from the raging water even as they watched their own homes go under. The vision on the nightly news of our fellow Australians carrying children and animals through chest-deep water to safety was heart-wrenching. But as this small but resilient town struggled to recover from the first flood, nature once again took its toll on 29 March and another life was lost.
The news moves on as it has to. The job of the news, by nature, is to provide you with new information. Despite a challenging few years of its own, the music industry is always one of the first to do what it can to help. When I received a call saying that Michael Chugg and Mark Pope were working with the Lismore Council to put on a free show for the residents of Lismore, and did I want to help, the answer was always going to be a yes.
In less than five weeks, a sensational team of music industry artists and crew came together and pulled off the impossible. A world-class show for thousands of people in a venue that less than 12 weeks before had been underwater.
The One from the Heart concert was a great success and a welcome distraction from the day to day of recovery. But arriving in Lismore to do press for the show, I was shocked at the devastation.
Three months on, less than 10% of businesses are open, and those which can run are doing so with the help of generators because, in many places, there is still no electricity. Some still have no water. Even the businesses that are open cannot trade at full capacity because kitchens have been destroyed, and the estimated time to get repairs is currently nine months.
People are still living with friends or relatives. Others have returned to destroyed homes. Doing what they can on their own with no access to trades, to pull down mouldy walls and make do with what they have left. We found out that the most valuable commodity in town at the moment is cardboard because, with nothing else, people are using it to insulate their walls as winter approaches.
Despite this, the attitude of every local we spoke to was, "we'll be right". There are so many stories that prove that this town is full of strong and resilient people.
But they still need help – and a lot of it. Of course, leadership is everything in a time of crisis, and in that regard, Lismore has hit the jackpot. Local Business owner Steve Krieg was elected Mayor in December 2021. New to the job, he watched as the town went under, including his home and his business.
I observed Steve as he walked through the streets and spoke to the locals. They love him because they understand that he is one of them. Every day he talks to different levels of government, reminding them that Lismore still needs help and trying to overcome the obstacles in the way of getting this town back on its feet. I have to admit to shedding a tear as I heard him tell someone his wife is a hero to him because she is the one keeping things together for their family while Steve does the job he needs to do to put the pieces back together for every other family in Lismore. It's a task he is taking personally.
If you can, please donate to the LISMORE FLOOD APPEAL.
Visit www.lismore.nsw.gov.au
