Four-and-a-half years after the 2022 floods devastated the Northern Rivers, emergency workers, researchers and community groups are gathering in Lismore to ask a deceptively simple question: are we better prepared for the next one?
Resilient Lismore’s two-day Disaster Ready Together Summit is being held at The Quad on Wednesday and Thursday, with sessions examining evacuation, health, housing, community networks and disaster response.
The summit brings together community organisations, emergency management agencies, researchers and community leaders, with organisers saying the aim is to move ‘beyond conversation and into action’.
Among the issues being explored are Lismore flood-zone evacuation planning, how the Northern Rivers health system can adapt during disasters, wildlife emergency response, and how community resilience groups and government can work together more effectively.
Resilient Lismore executive director Elly Bird said the region was now at a different stage from when the first summit was held in 2024.
‘Recovery is ongoing for many in our region but there is less resourcing for community services as we move further from that initial impact,’ Ms Bird said.
She said the Northern Rivers remained an area of ‘very high disaster risk’, making it critical that communities continue learning from each other and strengthening their capacity to respond.
The summit concludes on Thursday with a free community gathering at The Quad from 4pm to 7pm, featuring local disaster-readiness organisations, First Nations storytelling, food and children’s activities.
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