After the deluge

This is the Brisbane River. The recent floods on east coast of Australia is the closest I’ve been to such a major natural disaster. I’ve been in northern NSW for the last few days, finally being able to travel back to Brisbane yesterday, before we fly home to Adelaide tomorrow. We travelled through Lismore twice in the last week. Last Sunday it was raining heavily and the water was already rising. We stopped for supplies and fuel and kept going. Yesterday mud covered the centre of town and business owners and householders were piling up their sodden and ruined possessions in the streets. It was heartbreaking to see. I was just stuck (safe and dry under a sheltering roof) for a few days while water subsided and roads were cleared of debris and any dangerous sections were marked and made as safe as possible; others have had their lives and livelihoods turned upside down. You can’t compare the two experiences. I marvel at the resilience of human beings, demonstrated almost daily in actions and reactions great and small. I’m sure that Lismore and all the places like it will come back and thrive again. They won’t be the same, they can’t be - people have lost their lives, their loved ones and family members. But the community will find a way to recover and to flourish. And I will feel and watch and admire and salute, albeit from my safe distance.