February 28 2022, the date is etched into the minds of every Lismore, Coraki, Woodburn and other flood-affected residents for life.

Rather than relive the events of that tragic day and the weeks that followed, the Lismore App wanted you to read about the different journeys that a cross-section of flood-affected residents have been on in the last 730 days.

While the majority of us saw, helped and donated time, money and needed items at the time, these people have lived with the effects of the big flood for the greater part of two years and some still do and will do for years to come.

MARCUS and LEONIE BEBB

Marcus and Leonie Bebb along with their three teenage children were living in two pop-top caravans at the Lismore Showgrounds for 10 months following the flood which decimated their South Lismore home.

(Marcus and Leonie Bebb when they were living in two pop-up caravans out the front of the Gemfest office after the February 28 flood)

Then in November 2022, the Bebb's were lucky enough to get a three-bedroom family pod in the East Lismore Pod Village.

"It's a lot better than the Lismore Showground," Marcus told the Lismore App at the time.

"We got the opportunity to have a look and inspect them. We literally walked in the door and I think we (his wife Leonie) both looked at each other and went where do we sign?"

The Bebb's teenage children had their own room each and it meant they could bring the two family cats back into their lives.

"The cats were in a tree for a week after the flood, we thought we had lost them," Leonie said, "they were living at a friend's place for eight months and now we have them back which is awesome."

Marcus and Leonie got sick of waiting to hear if they would get a House Buyback offer from NSWRA so in November 2023 they sold their house privately, put an offer on a 31-acre farm at Kyogle and moved in within a month.

"It's been really, really good," Marcus said, "Life is slowly getting back to a normal pace after two years."

"The two eldest kids have got apprenticeships. Maddi is an apprentice boiler maker at Warwick and Cohan is an apprentice mechanic at Chris Albertini's. The youngest is in Year 10 at Kadina."

As for summing up the last two years?

"Horrible, I don't want to do that shit again. It's had its ups and downs and lefts and rights and it took a long time to get to the light at the end of the tunnel but we're happy on the farm at Kyogle."

GRAHAM and JUDY ASKEY

Graham and his wife Judy have been living in their South Lismore home since 1979, so 45 years.

Graham joked with the Lismore App in March 2023, when he said his raised Frank Street home is one of the best-kept secrets in Lismore, "Where else do you have absolute water frontage for less than half a million dollars with a 5-minute walk to town?"

(Graham and Judy's view from the back veranda on Frank Street)

Graham and Judy were rescued off the back verandah by the tinnie army after taking refuge in a small loft area within the house.

Their Frank Street home had never had flood waters in the house before February 28 2022. Under the house, you could see the markings from 2017, but no water had ever reached up to the main part of the house with a floor level of just over 13 metres. Graham had looked at the Lismore City Council website and claimed there are only 30 to 40 houses higher than his floor level in all of South and North Lismore.

After renovating their flood-damaged home to make it habitable, a generous house buyback was offered to Graham and Judy by the then NRRC (Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation) of $520,000 plus top-up money of $70,000 to cover relocation costs. "The price was very fair," Graham said.

Initially, Graham and Judy said thanks but no thanks to the buyback offer. However, when their neighbours all started accepting offers because they would not be offered house raisings (most are low set), they realised they would be one of only two houses left on Frank Street. So, they appealed for more money so he and Judy could buy a townhouse in Lismore Heights. They were successful.

"The townhouse has tenants until May 25 which suits us," Graham said, "It's more time to prepare and it will be a better climate to move."

Of the other neighbours that Graham knows of, one is moving locally while the other has moved to the Blue Mountains. Like Graham and Judy, one didn't want to move either.

"We were forced into doing something that we never want to do," was Graham's summary, "The only good thing about it is that we got more money than what the place is worth otherwise we couldn't have done it. We've just made the best of a bad job."

"As far as I am concerned, the NRRC was the biggest disaster Lismore had, bigger than the flood itself."

As for Graham and Judy's beloved old timber house? They have a neighbour who is interested in buying it and moving it. That option is being explored as it may have some legal issues.

"Someone else using it would be better than it being demolished."

Graham has not got any kind words for what has happened in the last two years.

"It's a terrible failure of public policy. The government should be spending their money on mitigation then you won't have to move anyone. You can't move everyone off the floodplain everywhere.

LINDSY BARTON and HEIDI GREEN

Life has also been a struggle for Heidi Green, Lindsy Barton and their son Anthony.

The family home in Cathcart Street was trashed on February 28 2022 with 2.35 metres of water through the house which put the water level at a metre from the roof.

(The damage after the flood waters had receded)

Like many other familiar stories, it was the first time their family home had water in the house. During the 2017 flood, the water level was about 20cm underneath the floor in their low-set raised house.

Heidi and Lindsy also had the losses from their Furniture Wiz business to deal with. Thanks to a generous landlord, they were allowed to renovate an upper-floor area above the Furniture Wiz shop in Casino Street, South Lismore.

It was primitive living with no insulation during a cold winter where socks and a beanie were part of the standard bed attire each night but they did have a roof over their head and it wasn't far to commute to work each day.

Two years later, Heidi and Lindsy are still not in their Cathcart Street home and don't know if they will ever return.

"We still have an unknown future," Heidi said, "I can't tell you where we are going to be living in 12 months' time. The uncertainty is still difficult. There is an ongoing flood conversation in my personal life two years on from the flood."

"We are thinking about a four-year timeline. We will fix the house up and take Anthony there and say do you want to live here again? It's highly likely he walks through the door and says I can't do this. This has affected him more than I thought it had."

The good news is that Heidi and Lindsy's insurance company finally told them their house is still insured during their first face-to-face meeting in two years. "From what I was told, this wasn't the case for the last 23 months," Heidi explained.

"We have content insurance too. When I found out we had insurance still, I slept for 14 hours straight. I am sleeping better now as there is no niggle in the back of your mind."

"We have reached the capacity of our previous policy, the house was a total write-off. However, we are still insured for a future event which is a huge, huge relief. We are also nearly at an arrangement with the mortgage bank for how much money they will take. We estimate that to be $140,000. That's what they will keep until we reno the Cathcart Street house and then we have to show them invoices. What makes it hard is to find a builder who will do the work for that money with that guarantee of money after the job is done and the bank pays up."

Heidi and Lindsy have not heard a word from the NSWRA since October 2023.

"We didn't want to do anything on the house if we were getting a house buyback. So, we are still sorting through our options, renovate, rent or sell and buy out of the flood plain.

SETH and LARA BELL

Seth and Lara Bell have a raised house in East Lismore that had never been underwater before February 28 2022 when six feet of water swept through their home leaving it uninhabitable for the family of five (Seth and Lara have three boys).

"East Lismore residents feel that they have been neglected, the water was no less deep than it was at South Lismore, and my neighbour had water to the roof," Lara said, "People were frustrated, especially when the flood map came out."

Lara and Seth felt they had no other option but to get stuck in and make their house, which they had fully renovated 12 months before, liveable once again.

"After the initial period of shock when you don't know where to begin or what to do, we got in and cleaned and renovated thanks to the generosity of family and friends. We spent our own savings and went into debt to get back into our home with basic furniture."

"We preemptively retrofitted our home. We were fully flood aware that every choice was to floodproof the home as much as we could. We spent extra money on the cabinetry just in case another flood hits us."

"We moved back in after nine months but it felt like forever. A family of five crammed into a 1 bedroom studio. We were very fortunate to have that space as it was difficult for other people to find any accommodation but it was challenging."

(Lara and Seth's East Lismore home during renovations)

"I think having strong relationships with a builder, electrician and cabinet maker because we just completed our renovations before the flood helped our situation. They committed to helping us get back in."

"We were dealing with that (the flood), for a good year and just recuperating from the financial loss and the physical loss and the trauma of that."

Lara and Seth haven't heard from the NSWRA for at least six months.

"The last time I rang I was told you'll definitely hear something soon, probably next week. We heard not a peep, they have dropped off the radar. Once it got beyond the 1-year mark I thought I should check in again and was surprised when the person I spoke to said don't think you won't get something, someone down the street was offered something but I can't say much."

Lara and Seth feel they will only be eligible for the $50,000 retrofit. Money spent a long time ago so their family could move back into their house and live a normal life once again. As they made every attempt to retrofit their home, they feel they will qualify for the retrofit.

SUMMARY

It has been a difficult, frustrating two years for those directly affected by the events of February 28 2022.

As you read above, most people are still wading through some flood elements in their lives trying to get to a point of pre-flood normality. For some, the trauma will be a lifelong effect.

You may remember a story we published in April 2022 after talking to Brenden Winder, who played a pivotal role in the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA). Brenden's role was Group Manager of Residential Red Zone Operations.

To remind you of what happened on February 22 2011, Christchurch (on NZ's south island) suffered a horrendous 6.2 magnitude earthquake that killed 185 people and injured more than 1,500 people. The centre of the quake was only 6.7km away from Christchurch so the devastation ripped through the heart of New Zealand's second-largest city.

The rescue, recovery and rebuild of Christchurch was long and deep, it appears to have quite a few similarities to Lismore. Thousands of people were displaced, many suburbs, not just homes, were coded a 'red zone' which meant they were condemned, the CBD was decimated with buildings taking years to be assessed let alone rebuilt and reopened.

Brenden had the following tips for the residents of Lismore:

1. Take a deep breath, this is going to go longer and cost more money than you think.
2. I know there are people that are upset for what has happened to their house, I get that, they will need to be supported. For the people that will be going into the recovery agency it will be complex, time-consuming and heartbreaking but it is important work and it needs to get done and when you get it done it will be rewarding to look back on and really good learning.
3. What you end up with will be better than what you have now and you will look back on some of it with real pride.

It is point 3 that we need to keep in mind. Two years on, we are still at the start of our journey to full recovery. More than likely, it will take another 5 to 8 years before we can turn around and look at our wonderful city with real pride. But it will happen.