When Tanya Slattery and her partner, Dion Whye, moved from Brisbane to Lismore six months ago, they were excited about setting up their new home.
Having lived in caravans and minibuses, the pair were relieved to be settling into a house in South Lismore near family.
Mr Slattery was also looking forward to starting work in the town as a plasterer.
"We had just bought a TV, new furniture … paid the bond," he told 7.30.
But, on Tuesday night, the pair were sheltering in an evacuation centre, spending the night on a thin foam mattress, listening to the roar of the wind and the rain smashing down on the roof of a university hall.
Just four weeks ago, the couple was in a similar predicament.
As the flood waters rushed through the town, the pair raced to a friend's house, packing what they could in a small car, and hoped for the best.
Their house and remaining belongings were destroyed but, after about four weeks of couch surfing, they decided to come back and start again.
"We started setting up in our house, and the day we set up in there, we had the army knock on our door at 7 o'clock at night, telling us to evacuate," Mr Whye said.
"We thought we'd be back setting up again the next day — we just thought it would go and it can't happen [again]," Ms Slattery said.
The couple is now reconsidering their decision to live in Lismore.
"There's a lot of rebuilding that needs to be done," Mr Whye said.
"I like living here, working down here … but, with the height of the flood, I don't see a lot of places coming back from it.
"They're struggling to come back from the 2017 floods, let alone this one."
'Hopefully, it doesn't get any worse than this'
Lismore's weary residents are finding it hard to stay optimistic amid the chaos of another natural disaster.
Four weeks ago, Brayden Love was one of many volunteers performing rescues in Lismore. Today, he came out again to save stranded pets and people.
"We've had the worst of our luck through this season and, hopefully, it doesn't get any worse than this," he said.
"As a community, we'll take what we can and use what we've got.
"All we need is the government assistance and for people to come through with their words and help us — something has got to be done.
"Obviously, we can't stay here like this if it's going to continue to happen."
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