Two years on, flood damage remains

“I know, minute by minute, how long it rains for because that’s my trauma from it,” Ms Dyball said.

As the two-year anniversary of the catastrophic 2022 floods that ravaged the region approaches, the stress that comes with a rainy day is just one of the many ways Ms Dyball continues to experience the fallout.

Reminders of the damage are ever-present for her.

During the 2022 event, floodwaters rose more than 40cm inside Ms Dyball’s Mooroopna home and sat stagnant for over a week.

The damage was widespread.

Water soaked into her furniture, her floors and crept up the walls.

Nearly two years on, Ms Dyball has still not been able to move back into her residence.

She currently lives in a caravan in her driveway.

It’s a mark of a recovery effort that has progressed at different paces for different people.

According to data from flood recovery case management service provider, Windermere, 1249 houses in Greater Shepparton were partially damaged and 155 were destroyed in the flood.

Thousands of people were affected in the region’s most significant flood event in over a century, which submerged wide swaths of the district.

In the aftermath, many residents have found that rebuilding and repair can be a lengthy and costly process.

In the Goulburn Valley, dozens of households have yet to start repairs or rebuilding efforts, according to the Goulburn Flood Recovery Service.

“There are certainly quite a number not back in their homes,” service manager Amy Jones said.

“This event has exacerbated other issues or challenges people have had.

“I feel like we’re getting there, but there’s still a long way to go for some people,” she said.

The final report from the state parliamentary inquiry into the 2022 flood event across Victoria noted that insurance complications, a scarcity of contractors and difficulties in accessing building materials could contribute to prolonged displacement after a disaster.

“These factors collectively contribute to the extended recovery period for affected individuals and communities,” the report, tabled in August, states.

The report also found the complexity of accessing financial assistance following the floods exacerbated the distress for some flood-impacted individuals, families and businesses.

Ms Dyball said she struggled to access financial assistance, especially as a single-person household.

“It felt incredibly isolating,” Ms Dyball said.

She was told she wasn’t eligible for a lot of the financial assistance, but was able to access some help.

She got assistance with basic repairs to make her property safe, but that work didn’t make her home liveable.

Ms Dyball also received temporary housing in the caravan on her property.

The van is free for 12 months.

Come early January, if she wants to stay in the van, she’ll have to pay.

“Even if it’s not finished, I will be in this house by Christmas,” Ms Dyball said.

“I cannot afford to pay what it would be to keep that on the property,” Ms Dyball said of the van.

Some days it feels too hard.

But Ms Dyball said the support of friends, like the family who housed her in their home in Kyabram for over a year after she evacuated, and the connectedness she’s found in the community have helped her through.

The work on her property also recently took some steps forward.

For the first week of October, more than a dozen volunteers with Connecting Communities Australia (CCA) descended on the Shepparton area to help Ms Dyball and a handful of other flood-affected households repair their homes.

They brought with them funds from a private donor to pay for contractors and materials.

“What they’ve accomplished in my house in a week... I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish in six months,” Mooroopna resident Debra Parker said.

“I never would have got to this point on my own,” she said through tears.

Ms Parker lives next door to Ms Dyball.

They both know how challenging it can be to live in limbo.

Even something as simple as cooking a meal becomes a complex dance, Ms Parker said.

She is looking forward to having a proper kitchen and baking at Christmas this year, like she used to.

She said that’s something she’d be able to do thanks to the work of CCA volunteers.

Ms Parker said she wished more funding would go to groups like this.

“We’d be doing this much more if there was better access to funding for groups like ours,” CCA CEO Glenn Price said.

“We’re battling to be able to do this work.”

While the need for groups like CCA shows many people still need assistance to recover, local officials and service providers note that there have been accomplishments in the past two years as well.

Repairs have been completed for 100km of sealed council roads, and 200km of unsealed roads, according to Greater Shepparton City Council Emergency Management and Resilience Manager Belinda Conna.

Among other things, Ms Conna said Community Recovery Committees had been established, roughly 13,500 tonnes of flood waste was cleared and efforts to boost community connectedness and resilience were under way.

Local and state efforts to plan for the next emergency were also happening.

And service providers say some people have been connected with the service system for the first time through the recovery process, addressing needs that pre-dated the floods.

But Ms Conna said it was important to remember that the recovery timeline would look different for everyone.

“Many people are striving to maintain a sense of normality while managing the shadow of recovery that lingers,” Ms Conna said.

She urged people to check in with those around them and remember that small acts of compassion could make a difference.

Service providers also want people to know that help, and funds, are still available for flood-affected people.

For Ms Dyball, as she continues to work towards recovery, being part of the solution is one thing that drives her.

“I don’t want anyone else to experience what I’ve experienced,” Ms Dyball said.

“If I can be part of the solution for a future situation, then let’s do that.”

Ms Dyball is part of the Resilience in Recovery effort, and part of a group putting together a community emergency management plan, something that could help in the future as a changing climate is predicted to bring more extreme weather events.

As she stares down the two-year anniversary of the flood, one of Ms Dyball’s goals is to enjoy the sound of the rain again.

“Part of the reason why I bought this house was I loved the sound of the rain on the roof,” she said.

“I want to love it again.”