‘Next level destruction’: NSW residents detail the moments floods devastated their homes

Residents of townships around Lismore and Mullumbimby recall destructive landslides, rising flood waters and raging torrents

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The towns of the New South Wales northern rivers are used to floods - they are part of the region's history and a product of its geography. But this time was different. The speed at which flood waters rose, the sheer volume of water and the scale of the damage caught many by surprise.

Politicians are calling these floods a once-in-a-100, or even a once-in-a-1,000-year event, but in reality these catastrophic weather events are becoming more intense and more frequent.