Three months after the devastating Lismore floods in late February, 1,300 people remain in emergency housing and less than 20% of businesses are back in business.
The loss of her home due to the flood forced Nathan Rose, her very pregnant partner Tina Ashcroft and their seven children to camp in tents on a family property on the Wilsons River.
But when the second flood came a month later, and her son was born prematurely, they moved to two caravans on the farm to welcome them all.
“It’s been a wild ride,” Mr. Rose said.
A temporary house installed this week in the backyard of his home in Lismore has been a turning point, three months since they became homeless.
“We now have eight children and coming back home is, well, we’re a little speechless.”
Resilience NSW has confirmed as of this week that there are still more than 1,300 people in emergency accommodation on the northern rivers.
Teresa Blackley was renting in a caravan park south of Lismore when the peak of the flood came.
Teresa Blackley has been living in a tent for nine weeks, but says she is one of the “lucky ones” to get a short-term rental. (ABC North Coast: Bronwyn Herbert)
It then moved 10 times between different campsites in the area, including Coraki, downstream of Lismore, when the second major flood affected the region in late March.
“During the second flood I had a heart attack and had to be evacuated to Lismore Base Hospital,” he said.
But as she now lives in a rental house, not in a caravan or tent, she believes she is “one of the lucky ones.”
Lismore City Council is now proposing a $ 400 million land swamp that will allow people to move from the most flood-prone areas to the highest areas.
Piles of rubble and rubbish on a street in Lismore after the floods of 2022. (ABC News: Gavin Coote)
Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg, who had his family’s home and business flooded to the roof, believes “smarter than him” people should make big decisions about how to do a land swap. .
“What’s more expensive is to continually rebuild by doing the same things over and over again; this time we have to do things differently,” he said.
“There is no doubt about that.”
Lismore City Council estimates that 250 stores are now open at the CBD and South Lismore Industrial Estate.
Less than 20 percent of stores reopen at Lismore CBD. (ABC News: Bronwyn Herbert) Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg was damaged in both his home and business during the February floods. (ABC North Coast: Bronwyn Herbert)
“There’s progress every day, you know you have to look for green shoots in disasters like this and it’s great to see these companies come back to life slowly,” Krieg said.
It has also been a difficult time for the owners.
Adrian Katschke, a retired insurance broker, has been working hard to remodel his two stores in Lismore’s Strand Arcade.
Adrian Katschke has been working hard to renovate his two stores. (ABC North Coast: Bronwyn Herbert)
He said a tenant had just moved in and that the ice cream chain that rented his space next to the sidewalk was not coming back.
“Unfortunately we lost our tenant, now we have to hang a sign on the wall that says open for rent and we just cross our fingers,” he said.
“It simply came to our notice then.
“It’s been a horrible event and it has certainly traumatized many of us.”
But there are green shoots emerging.
The owners of the city’s main shopping center have confirmed that four of its main businesses will reopen in July, and the other 70 tenants are in various stages of managing insurance claims, government grant applications and equipment.
Gary McConaghy says a lot of people trust Lismore Square to work. (ABC North Coast: Bronwyn Herbert)
Gary McConaghy, CEO of McConaghy Properties, said it was an important vote of confidence for the city to open as soon as possible.
“A thousand people work in Lismore Square, which means a lot of people depend on us to make a living,” he said.
For Mr. Rose and his family, going home means everything.
“It’s just easy to get kids off the bus in front of their house,” he said.
“We’ve been here for almost nine years and we want to stay in Lismore.
“It simply came to our notice then.
“We will rebuild more and better.”