Lismore resident and owner of the Music Bizarre in Magellan Street Lismore, Debra Ray thought she was ready for future floods.  

Disaster Relief Australia | December 2022



With lessons learned from 2017, Debra thought the upstairs of her store was well protected against rising waters. She was wrong.

The 2022 Northern Rivers flood hit hard. Her premises, stock and irreplaceable collectables were significantly damaged.  Under pressure and devastated, Debra attempted to repair the damage, run her business and manage the loss of her home in South Lismore.  

With overwhelming tasks piled high, DRA stepped in. They relocated damp and mouldy records, cleaned stock and cleared areas for use again.

Debra said of the team: “I just couldn’t stop saying oh my god, oh my god because it had such a huge impact.  To really see the progress is psychologically uplifting and amazing. For example, there was a team member who fixed my roller door. It had been damaged after the flood and was covered in mud. Just to see the blue paint on the door rather than the mud was phenomenally uplifting. I don’t know why I keep using the word uplifting, but it was just amazing.”