Sunday, August 28 2022, exactly 6 months since Lismore's biggest recorded flood decimated our beloved city. 14.4 metres was the flood level that didn't just break the records of 1954 (12.27m) and 1974 (12.15m), it smashed them by over 2 metres.

The devastation was something we had never seen before let alone experienced, and the size and scale of the cleanup and recovery has been unfathomable.

Rather than relive the events of February 28, March 1 and subsequent weeks, the Lismore App wanted to find out how far we've come in these six months. To answer that question, we talked to the community and we talked to politicians over the last two days.

Ronny had just finished the Dary Chapman Fun Run 10k's and said progress has been gradual and slowly coming together, "It's events like this just pull it all together and just spread the good word. I think there will be quite a bit of progression (in the next six months) from what it is now, we just need the funding in order to do so."

Sally said there is still a long way to go. "There's still so many things that are nowhere near open. People have been working so hard for six months like businesses and houses, no ones back to normal."

Ben thought the government response has been too slow. "I think if it wasn't for the community, we wouldn't be where we are now. I just feel we're regional, I think we're forgotten. I'm glad that things like the ABC have kept a focus on it. There's a lot of tension building with social media saying watch out there's another flood coming. I don't think the governments addressed that anxiety."

(The large crowd on Woodlark Street at the presentation ceremony of today's Daryl Chapman Fun Run)

Paul also mentioned the possibility of another flood event and being better prepared. "The planning is heading in the right direction but we just need the real money to come in and redesign how we use Lismore."

A lady who wanted to remain anonymous said it is good to see some green shoots appearing. "Shops are starting to come back and I think that's promising, there is some optimism. My hairdresser is back operating and she's just excited that she's back with her staff and she's got her old clientele back."

Another anonymous person thought the magnitude of the flood event was so big that we can't use our normal timeframes. "To think that we can just reopen the shops or redo the houses, I think it is so big that it's overcome the capability of the local council to do that themselves. We need to make sure that the new body (Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation) does have the decision-making power so we don't get caught up with local politics and local council issues."

Jenna thought that six months on she would have a better idea about where we were going to go from here. "The insurance companies have been very slow as well as the banks. I know of family and friends who are waiting on the bank to release their decision, insurance companies. Yeah, they're all waiting on what the government will say."

"I think considering what's happened you can't put a time frame on this, it just has to take as long as it takes to get done. I wish the government would hurry up and just decide what they're going to do and announce it but at the same time I don't want them to rush into something and screw it all for everyone."

Fiona felt that not much from the outside has changed. "While driving around, it doesn't seem like many people have been able to get back into their homes yet. I mean, it's happening but slowly. The same with the businesses, there are shops reopening but it's a lot slower than I would have hoped. We have never been through something of this scale before so it was hard to get an idea of how long it would take."

(The state of housing in South Lismore)

Mayor Steve Krieg thought that, council-wise, they were certainly a lot further ahead after the 2017 flood with more certainty around bigger funding for projects like the upgrade of the sewage treatment plant at East Lismore. "Transport for NSW has embedded engineers into our organisation to help with road repairs. That will take between 3 and 5 years."

"If you look at the CBD, you could say it is really slow but the extent of the damage caused is exponentially greater than any former flood we've had. The February flood is the number two in Australias biggest natural disasters, it will take years to repair. Patience and understanding is an essential asset to have. Through state and federal government funding we're going to look totally different to what we are looking at now."

"The NRRC is based in Lismor, the state and federal governments have promised to get the flood mitigation right so we can build back better. We have an opportunity to be the centre of the Northern Rivers once again through correct planning and the correct infrastructure. Lismore can be the destination that people want to live in but we have to have a bit of vision and we have to put in the hard yards to get there."

Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan told the Lismore App, "A lot has happened and a lot is going to happen but we need a sense of urgency. This is what we have to remind the government and bureaucrats." 

"This was Australia’s second worst natural disaster (in terms of insurance claims dollar value) and because it was so huge we were always going to be slow, let's face it no one was expecting everything to happen immediately but the sense of urgency we are seeing from the government doesn't mirror the event that we've had."

Minister for Emergency Services and Resiliences and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke was in Lismore today running the Dary Chapman Fun Run 10k course.

"There's no doubt there are signs of life everywhere across the Northern Rivers region and particularly here in Lismore. There's been a number of community events that have been held over the last few months and today is no different and gives people an opportunity to come together and celebrate so many wonderful things about this really tight-knit community."

"So we're starting to see people move back into their homes. I've spoken to a couple of people that have had welcome-home parties in recent weeks and to people who are really doing their absolute best to get back to life as they knew it before six months ago. We were seeing that across the board, but we can't take away from the fact that there's still more work to be done."

"We've, thankfully, seen a lot of those big businesses and banks really commit to this area. They believe it's got a future, the government believes it's got a future and in my role as flood recovery minister, I gave a commitment and an undertaking to this community, that I would stay with them on the journey while ever I had the great honour and privilege of the portfolio. And so I'm back here six months later, running of all things a 10k run, that Woodlawn Hill was an absolute killer."

"For me, it's really all about spending time with locals and understanding what their needs are, not just now but really trying to get a forward view on what that means for us and government and how we can best support these communities in the long term. I mean, we've said at the outset, we've said many times, it's a long, long road to recovery. It's going to take years and years and people have told me that after the 2017 flood this year, five years on, this was the time when they would really start to hit their strides again. So, we know that we've got years of rebuild ahead of us. The government has committed billions of dollars already to ensure that that that happens, and we will continue to do that over the days, weeks months and years ahead."

Local Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin also participated in the CBD for the Fun Run this morning.

"I'd like to have seen more development with housing, with buybacks, our commercial landlords, all of that, but I know it's coming. It's been committed by the government, by the premier and the premier, when he was here, said that buybacks, relocatable's and land swaps would go out to expression of interest by the end of August. So, we'll all be looking at Wednesday. We looked at the announcement of the Independent Flood Report, we thought there would be something more concrete there, there wasn't but we're now looking to Wednesday. It will just bring some more certainty to people and they clearly need it, both residential and business."

"I believe that in the next six months we will see a lot more activity in the flood recovery, we need to because we're a bit stalled in some ways. Yes, businesses are up and running, yes, some people are back in their houses, but like the POD villages, you know, they're still stuck on them and not putting people in caravans on their property until they work out what they're going to do.

"We just need momentum to come and I hope it comes on the first day of spring."

You could summarise all the comments into three points:

1. This natural disaster was on a scale that no one has ever seen or experienced before so the rebuild will take longer than all of us expected or would like.
2. The government, insurance companies and banks need more urgency in making decisions so people can rebuild their lives and their businesses as fast as possible.
3. The Lismore community spirit is well and truly alive and thriving under the most trying times. We truly are a resilient city.

Roll on Thursday, September 1 for major government announcements.