Mark O'Toole was plucked from the roof of his Bungawalbin home in northern New South Wales exactly 12 months ago.
In footage that captured the nation's attention, his bare legs dangled above metres of churning floodwater as soldiers rescued him by helicopter.
"The flood was the easy part," Mr O'Toole said.
"It's living with what the floods left us with — that's really hard."
The floods that ravaged South-East Queensland and parts of New South Wales between February and March last year were "indisputably the costliest in our nation's history", according to an Insurance Council of Australia report.
Tonight, about 1,000 people gathered at Mortimer Oval in Lismore for a memorial and healing service.
Premier Dominic Perrottet and Opposition Leader Chris Minns showed a rare moment of solidarity by attending, and joining conversations with State Emergency Service volunteers about the anniversary.
The gathering paid tribute to the lives lost in the disaster, while also marking how well the community has coped.
Children waved heart flags and the crowd shone their phone lights in a moment of silence.
A year on from the flood crisis, thousands of people remain displaced across the Northern Rivers region.
Even those who are back in their homes are living in makeshift, sometimes unsafe, circumstances.
South Lismore resident Jenna Breeze, her husband Shannon, and their five-year-old daughter Raelene are living in a government caravan in their backyard.
Their ravaged home, which they purchased just three years before the disaster, remains a shell — with no walls and no bathroom.
"I often wish we never bought this house," she said.
"I feel like I'm shackled to it, and we can't move on."
Ms Breeze is one of the 6,000 residents who have applied to the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRCC) for funding to help with buyback, housing raising, or retrofitting.
The $700 million Resilient Homes package was announced in October.
NRRC boss David Witherdin said in an interview last week that just one voluntary buyback had been offered so far and a "handful" would follow within the week.
Like many, Ms Breeze was still waiting to learn if she was eligible.
The waiting added pain to injury.
"We've both suffered from [post-traumatic stress disorder] and we're not alone in that," Ms Breeze said.
These questions of timing were all too familiar to residents of the Northern Rivers.
"Nothing has moved forward," Mr O'Toole said.
The father of four said he was living in his gutted-out home while his kids stayed with friends and family.
"We've never been apart," he said.
"Now we've been apart for 12 months, and it's really getting hard on us.
"Family life, in general, has broken down a lot [for many people] and it's flowing through the schools — they're having trouble."
An event has been organised to "provide the community with the opportunity to reflect, commemorate and heal" at Lismore's Mortimer Oval this evening.
Event organisers said Lifeline councillors would be there to help anybody being triggered by discussions of the disaster.
Meanwhile, residents in the Tweed Shire say the community is still "raw" a year on from devastating floods, with gatherings taking place across the region in recognition of the anniversary.
Residents in the Chinderah, Murwillumbah and Kingscliff areas were forced to evacuate their homes early on February 28 last year.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today acknowledged the anniversary during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra.
"Thousands of people were dislocated from their homes and businesses and communities like Lismore were doing it really, really tough and continue to do so," he said.
Highs and lows
Bianca Pope, whose image became synonymous with the disaster when she was captured on camera walking across a bridge cradling her large dog, Nahla, in her arms, said returning to that spot brought up terrible memories.
"If it's a foggy morning, I'll almost start being sick in the car because it looks like water and it's not," she said.
Ms Pope said she had been focused on rebuilding two family homes and was worried about not having processed the trauma of the disaster.
"There are days when you don't want to get out of bed," she said.
"There are days when you don't even want to be in this world because you walk outside and there are houses broken, shops broken.
"But then, when you go away to a city and see normality you go 'Wow'."
Ms Pope said the experience made her grateful for the smallest things.
"Fresh water … when you can get it out of your tap," she said.
"It's weird thinking that the highs … are an everyday essential."
Communities 'tired, frustrated'
The community organisation 'Resilient Lismore' has been assisting families over the past 12 months with their recovery, with a specific focus on providing safe and acceptable housing.
The group's executive director, Lismore City councillor Elly Bird, said the anniversary marked a time to reflect on the past while also looking to the future.
"I think as a community we're quite tired. We've definitely got some frustration going on," Cr Bird said.
"But overall, I think we're very reflective and just thinking about what our journey has been like so far.
Cr Bird said the experience in her community is reflected across the country in the "Climate Trauma" report release by the Climate Council today.
The survey of 2,000 Australians in December found extreme weather events made worse by climate change are taking a "heavy toll on the mental health of Australians" and that rising insurance premiums were "increasing the burden" for residents to protect themselves.
The report also found that communities across the country were reporting mental health challenges as a result of worsening extreme weather events, which was particularly tough for rural and regional Australians.
Cr Bird has found there is still a long road ahead to recovery, both mentally and especially on the ground.
"For people who need information to make decisions about their recovery, a year has been a very long time.
"People need to understand which aspect of the Resilient Homes program they're eligible for; if they're going to get a buyback, a retrofit or a house raise.
"That information needs to be coming faster so people can make decisions about their lives."
