Residents and businesses in the northern NSW town of Lismore are bracing themselves for more flooding as heavy rainfall swells the Wilsons River, close to the centre of the town.
Samantha and Simon Wu suffered close to $1 million in damage to their Chinese restaurant Mandarin Palace after it was gutted by the devastating flood in late February, which killed four people.
Now with a fresh flood warning for the town of Lismore following heavy rainfall this week, Ms Wu says there’s a sense of anxiety in the town that is still trying to rebuild, more than six months on.
“[We’re] keeping an eye out on the situation, just monitoring at the moment. Hopefully, it’s not going to be anything major,” she said.
“We are optimistic this time around. It was raining last night but nothing compared to the February rain. Everyone is being cautious.”
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a minor flood warning for the Wilsons River at Lismore on Friday morning, adding to the severe weather warning for heavy rainfall in the Northern Rivers.
“The Wilsons River at Lismore may exceed the minor flood level (4.2 m) Friday evening. The river level may reach around 5.7 metres overnight Friday into Saturday, with minor flooding,” BOM said.
The Wilsons River reached a record height of more than 14m on 28 February.
“Heavy rainfall observed over the Wilsons River catchment Thursday night into Friday morning has the potential to cause minor flooding at Lismore from Friday evening.
“Further rainfall is forecast for the remainder of Friday which may cause additional river level rises.”
Memories of devastation
Ms Wu said the declaration of a La Niña event for the third year in a row for eastern Australia was hanging over Lismore, with above-average rainfall predicted over spring and summer.
“It is hanging over our minds … [we’re] quite anxious in even ordering stock,” she said.
During the February/March floods, when the rising floodwaters engulfed the town, Mandarin Palace eventually went underwater, destroying most of its kitchen equipment and vital electrical systems.
Samantha and Simon Wu have spent months cleaning up flood damage. Source: Supplied / Samantha Wu
“We only have some chairs left because they were stackable chairs and they were stacked very high. Pretty much everything else is gone.”
Coming back to salvage what was left of the restaurant in March was a heartbreaking sight, Ms Wu said.
“It was quite overwhelming,” she said.
Mandarin Palace eventually reopened in mid-May but Ms Wu said there was “still plenty to do” to get the more than 50-year-old restaurant back to its original condition.
Most of Mandarin Palace's equipment and furniture was destroyed. Source: Supplied / Samantha Wu
“I think every business in Lismore is looking for people to work,” she said.
Samantha and Simon Wu took over Mandarin Palace in 2000, and are the third owners of the restaurant since it opened.
“A lot of the history of the place washed away [in the flood] - it’s probably one of the oldest establishments around here. Many people grew up in this place and there is quite a few generations coming through,” Ms Wu said.
And while the threat of flooding continues to hang over Lismore as it tries to rebuild, she said the town is still trying to remain positive.
“We’ve been here forever, we have been here basically all our working lives … after we got married and raised our children,” she said.
