Sandra White was an organiser for the IEU from 1999-2019, working mostly with the Penrith/Blue Mountains Sub Branch, and finishing her working life with the North Coast Sub Branch, based in Lismore. She is returning temporarily to the IEU to cover for an organiser on long-service leave. Here she writes about her recent experiences during the Lismore floods.
Being retired is not all I expected it to be during times of bushfires, pandemics and floods. I’m not alone there, obviously, as life has changed for everyone over the past couple of years.
But maybe it’s one of the reasons I’m so glad to be rejoining the union team as an organiser for the Mid North Coast Sub Branch of the IEU, replacing Steve Bergan while he takes long service leave. It seems like a life that might be close to normal.
I say ‘close to normal’ because living in Lismore NSW is anything but normal. Everyone knows of the catastrophic flood that hit Lismore at the end of February but try to really imagine two extra metres of water on top of the previous worst flood ever. That’s one more tall basketballer standing on the shoulders of six other basketballers – can you imagine that?
I don’t like to use the work ‘unprecedented’ these days, but that is what it was. Unprecedented, unexpected, unthinkable ... and utterly traumatic for those trapped as the waters rose and they faced the possibility of death.
‘Unprecedented’ is why so many were caught out. Locals are used to floods and do have flood safety plans ready to go – for a normal flood.
I worked at the ‘help desk’ at Resilient Lismore in downtown Lismore following the floods and found myself in tears at least once each day hearing the personal stories of loss, risk, danger, terror and, finally, rescue.
Like most others living on high ground, I shared my home with flood refugees and put on my gumboots to help with the clean-up. I wished at the time I could have done more – survivor’s guilt, I suppose.
The stories of community help are many and wonderful. Donations came from everywhere around Australia, and people from as far as Victoria, South and Western Australia turned up to volunteer.
I know from my work at Resilient Lismore how much this was appreciated by the flood victims but can also see the terrific cost the experience has taken on them: mentally, emotionally and physically.
Trauma impacts a person’s ability to assess and plan the way forward. It fogs the brain. It is tiring and draining. Dealing with bureaucracy and administration, supplying personal documentation for relief grants is nigh impossible for many, especially given the continuing disruption to their home life and that personal computers and paperwork have gone down the gurgler – literally.
Lismore still looks apocalyptic and it will take years to recover. For most locals it is one day at a time but thank goodness for the helping hands of so many kind neighbours here and around the country.
And thank goodness for a newly elected federal government that will finally act on climate change.