The long-lasting tail of flood devastation

Road trains and tractors would usually be rattling around Moree this time of year, the northern NSW region abuzz with harvest.

Instead the town of 8000 and its farming community have spent weeks surveying the damage of its second major flood in 18 months. 

Among the many disaster-weary towns across eastern Australia, the people of Moree are steeling themselves for a long recovery.

The Defence Force helped clean up after 1000 homes were damaged as the swollen Gwydir and Mehi Rivers broke their banks late last month.

Villages like Mungindi, on the Queensland border, and remote properties have been isolated for weeks, relying on emergency services to fly in essential supplies. 

There are fears half the region's barley and wheat crops will be unsalvageable and farmers won't be able to sow cotton, leading to hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.

"They will go without an income for at least 12 months," Mayor Mark Johnson tells AAP.

"They're not going to spend as much in town, so there are ordinary working class families who will be impacted too.

"Farmers will lose millions of dollars, but this has a ripple effect for everyone in town."

Moree, which has a $1 billion agriculture sector, was looking forward to a bright future. 

The region was held up as an example of a booming community, attracting an influx of tree-changers during COVID-19 lockdowns for its lucrative industry and peaceful country lifestyle.

Mr Johnson says the let down and pain of two floods will be lasting.

"It might sound dramatic to say it will take years to recover, but that's probably the case.

"There will be some very saddened and disheartened farmers out there because they were so close to harvest.

"We're going to need a couple of good years to soften the blow."

The historic opal mining town of Lightning Ridge, west of Moree, has been cut off due to flooded and damaged roads.

Ana Vastag, who runs a community garden, says the town is subsisting on tinned and frozen food from the supermarket, and her vegetables and leafy greens are in high demand.

While the mood is calm, some are having to cancel long-awaited specialist medical appointments in Dubbo or Bourke.

"We are used to severe weather and people are taking it in their stride," Ms Vastag says.

"It's not desperate yet, but if it goes on for another week, it might be."  

There have been as many as 100 emergency warnings across NSW each day this week, while communities along the Murray River in Victoria remain on alert, as do parts of rural Tasmania.

National charity Rural Aid, which provides financial and emotional support, is hearing from people who have lived through six floods in the last 18 months.

"Each one of those events erodes people's resilience a little bit more," chief executive John Warlters says.

Many victims of the destructive February floods in southern Queensland and the NSW Northern Rivers are only now coming to terms with the enormity of the disaster.

"There was an initial emotional reaction, then people typically get busy trying to get their properties back into some semblance of order," Mr Warlters says.

"They stand fences and repair equipment but then hit a flat spot realising, 'I'm glad I've got the place back to where I want it to be, but I'm not sure where I am as a person'."

A 2020 study on rural adversity, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, highlighted an urgent need for ongoing health and wellbeing programs in country areas due to the spiralling effects of repeated disasters.

Dr Hazel Dalton, a senior researcher at Charles Sturt University's Rural Health Research Institute, says the term "wet drought" will resonate with many, as there has been little relief from rain for nearly two years.

"If it's unpredictable or you have a greater exposure, we know there's a higher incidence of mental health problems likely, particularly around psychological distress and the potential for post-traumatic stress disorder," Dr Dalton says.

While rural people may have to wait and travel long distances for face-to-face mental health services, Dr Dalton encouraged the use of online resources like MindSpot and This Way Up in the meantime.

"If you're supporting someone, that human-to-human contact, support and presence is invaluable, being a good neighbour and a good friend.

"If you are worried about someone, it's good to be direct and try to connect even if they put you off for a bit."

Mr Warlters says the physical, emotional and financial cost of the floods is unfathomable and rural Australians shouldn't be forgotten.

"They're very proud people, and reaching out and asking for help is not something that comes naturally.

"We need to realise that when the water recedes, or the fire is put out, or the rain ends a drought, that's not the end.

"The problem lingers for a lot longer."

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