Faces of the FLOODS

The destruction of the NSW town of Lismore (and beyond) is etched on the faces of these six local women. As they work through the gruelling and all-too-familiar clean-up, they share their harrowing stories

KATE STROUD

ARTIST, 35

I was in my home when I realised the severity of what was about to happen. I received a message from a friend saying, “My love, it's going to come inside your house. Charge your devices, pack a backpack with water, snacks. Sorry to sound scary. I love you."

There was no sleep that night. We walked around in circles not knowing what to do, what to save, saying goodbye to our home, our life as we knew it. The carpet came alive underfoot, pushing our footsteps in waves across the room, tumbling furniture into the brown dark liquid under darkness.

Dawn broke slowly. Something was moving just beyond the house, a cow four times my size washed up to our verandah railing. The panic in its eyes – silently begging for us to help as it struggled to keep its head above water - will be an image that will be forever etched in my mind. There was nothing we could do.

In the dim morning light, the water now over our waists, we began to shiver with cold. We stayed for six hours as the storm raged on, amplified by our tin roof.

My ears began to hallucinate from the lack of sleep. My body wanted to turn off. It felt like waves were crashing on the house. We could hear the hum of boats beyond, none of them for us - they were too far away.

My community desperately attempted to get someone to us. I stood at the window of the kitchen waiting for the boat to come back for us. After six hours, a man in a black wetsuit finally appeared, so I banged on the glass with my fist. I passed him my backpack and climbed aboard his jet ski. My partner climbed on behind me and closed the window behind us. Bye bye home.

"WE WALKED AROUND IN CIRCLES NOT KNOWING WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO SAVE, SAYING GOODBYE" - Kate Stroud

POLLY CAMPI

SHOP OWNER, 64