What Lismore needs right now after the floods
OUR city has just faced one of its worst disasters in history. We look at what it must do to recover
Lismore
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IMMEDIATE INVESTMENT
MOMENTUM is building to see Lismore and Murwillumbah qualify for Federal Government cash grants under the most severe "Category C" disaster funding.
Lismore and Tweed council areas have already been approved for two levels of disaster funding which include council and non-profit grants plus a variety of personal hardship payments. The third level of disaster relief would qualify businesses for cash grants which could be crucial to quickly restoring confidence in Lismore.
LISMORE Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, Deborah Benhayon said local businesses "absolutely" needed Category C grants.
Ms Benhayon said a majority of retailers weren't insured for floods with pressure mounting to pay damage costs on top of overheads and staff wages.
"They need that capital injection into their businesses so they can be supported," Ms Benhayon said.
Federal Page MP Kevin Hogan agreed Lismore needed a Category C declaration, but said the process usually took some time as the State Government needed to collate all the losses before applying to the Commonwealth.
"It's usually a multi-week process, (and) it can sometimes take months," he said.
"(But) we are fast-tracking this as quickly as we can."
"We need Category C to be declared, but we need to do it properly. We need to make sure we don't miss anything when we do this, so we've got the right estimate."
Lismore mayor Isaac Smith said Lismore "absolutely" needed the extra funding.
"Lismore has faced its worst disaster in the town's history... there's never been a more important time to have Federal and State assistance maximised for our city."
"You just can't go street to street and business to business and not realising that this is a disaster that is going to take us months to get over."
"Every fridge in Lismore tipped over and broke in every business. You can't replace that with a small weekly grant."
The last of the high ground at Lismore Airport, NSW, #Australia. #NSWFloods (photo via Airline Secrets Exposed) #aviation #flying pic.twitter.com/Klle8gkJvx
— Flying Kangaroo (@FlynKangaroo) April 3, 2017
RE-START THE HEART
CLEANING up and buying local have been identified by community leaders as crucial factors to re-start the heart of Lismore.
The Lismore Chamber of Commerce and Industry have swung into action to encourage shoppers to invest in and engage with local businesses through its Re-Start the Heart campaign.
From re-purchasing white goods to everyday groceries, chamber president Deborah Benhayon said shopping in Lismore is crucial for the community's recovery.
"Every business has employees, those employees are apart of this community and so its not just one business being impacted, it might be 10 families being impacted," Ms Benhayon said.
Ms Benhayon urged the community "to think about where they are injecting their money ... because it actually all goes around and comes back around to you as well."
Recovery coordinator, Euan Ferguson labelled the promotion of Northern Rivers business as a major priority for the recovery effort.
But he said the removal of flood waste disposal was "the number one priority" for affected towns.
He said rubbish lining the streets is unsightly and created potential risks for public health.
North Lismore resident Melissa Gulbin said the council staff and contractors alone were not sufficient to get rubbish out of her suburb before it became a health hazard.
"I think any extra services would help in terms of assistance," she said.
"Maybe if the government could get contractors around Australia to come in. It can't just be the council's problem. It's just too big for council."
Mayor, Isaac Smith dismissed any need to deploy the Australian Defence Force for assistance with waste disposal.
A BRIGHTER FUTURE
HOPE and optimism are important, but right now Lismore is still dealing with the pain of loss.
That's perfectly natural, according to a psychologist with extensive disaster counselling experience.
"When people are really sad and distressed, they need to be able to have that listened to and acknowledged, and it's really important to do that before you start trying to look on the bright side and cheer them up," said Dr Rob Gordon, a consultant for Red Cross Disaster Recovery.
"Otherwise... people just don't talk about the sad stuff. That means they're left alone with it."
"Nowadays with all the talk of resilience and positive thinking, there is a little bit of a temptation to just substitute all the unhappiness and grief for that, and it doesn't work."
Dr Gordon said any hope and optimism has to be tied to a practical action plan, rather than just a "sentiment".
Practical help can be hugely supportive - cooking a meal, helping clean up, or make those important phone calls on people's behalf.
Also, helping people plan and prioritise to organise their recovery, because when people are upset they often struggle with strategic planning.
Dr Gordon encouraged people to use the help available - go to public meetings, to use their friends and ask for favours: "A lot of people want to help, but they've got to be asked."
"All the research says the people who use help get better faster," he said.
Lismore mayor Isaac Smith said the town was still from the immediate disaster.
"We are still right in the middle of talking about how it hit us personally, in our homes, and in our businesses," he said.
"There is still giant piles of rubbish in front of so many places and every time you look at that you can't help but be brought back to the trauma of the event."
"(But) you don't move beyond the hurt unless you process it."
Looking forward, Lismore City Council general manager Gary Murphy said "there is hope."
"People talk about the three R's: Roads, Rates and rubbish," Mr Murphy said.
"There are new R's: Response, recovery and restoration and you could probably throw in there resilience and resourcefulness as well because that's what this community is."
A LONG TERM PLAN
COMMUNITY leaders have pre-empted a series of reviews, forums and meetings to be held in the coming months to bolster Lismore's flood management strategies.
Those discussions are already being facilitated such as the Lismore City Council's flood forum on Thursday night.
Lismore's chamber of commerce have established an online survey to help best gauge the concerns of the business community.
For emergency services, Commander Superintendent for Richmond Local Area Command Greg Martin said agencies will be undertaking debrief processes about flood response and management.
Commander Supt Martin acknowledged the community is "pulling together" to find solutions to better prepare, respond and recover.
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