Flood reports and plans

Lismore City Council's Flood Response Report estimates that the natural disaster and flood of February and March caused more than $350 million in damage to Council assets. Including $200 million in road and bridge damage, $108 million in water and wastewater infrastructure damage, up to $20 million in waste and resource recovery damage, and $20 million in damage to Council facilities and depots.

The report estimates that the total cost of rebuilding the community will be close to $1 billion.

• Flood Response Report(PDF, 18MB)

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is supporting the Northern Rivers to drive long-term resilience by delivering priority projects that mitigate the impact of disasters on communities and economies in the region.

To understand the vulnerability of the Northern Rivers region to the impacts of severe weather, (following the devastation of the February-March 2022 natural disaster and flood), $11.4 million has been committed to the Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative, being undertaken by the National Emergency Management Agency and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). This is to understand climate, catchment, and hydrological drivers within the region and how these drivers impact flooding. This work is occurring in close collaboration with the NSW Government.  

The Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative is being delivered in two phases.

Phase 1 assessed and prioritised community supported options for flood mitigation projects. CSIRO prepared two reports related to this work, which NEMA and the NSW Government have considered.  

Phase 2 is a larger project to collect suitable data and construct a whole-of-catchment model for the Richmond River and test different flood mitigation scenarios.  

This will inform longer-term flood mitigation measures and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.