ABOVE: Hanabeth Luke looks at the survey she designed to gather information about flood recovery.
Susanna Freymark
Here is a survey about the floods that isn’t being conducted by a government department. This flood survey has been designed by locals and the information gathered will be used by residents to inform future decisions in the flood recovery.
Evans Head resident Hanabeth Luke found the stories she was hearing after the floods heartbreaking.
“I kept hearing heartbreaking stories about insurance outcomes and people not being able to raise houses,” Hanabeth said.
“It’s heartbreaking to see my community in this state.”
Hanabeth has lived in Evans Head for four years and in Woodburn for five.
She went to Byron High School and studied at Southern Cross University.
She works at the university now as a senior lecturer in science and regenerative agriculture.
Dr Sophie Scamps, the Independent member for Mackellar visited the area at Hanabeth’s invitation and visited the Wardell and Lismore hubs.
In Sophie’s maiden speech in Parliament, she said:
“How we deal with this disaster defines us as a country.”
Hanabeth spoke to the hub leaders and asked what she could do to help the community.
While her own home didn’t flood, 17 of the 25 families at her daughter’s preschool lost their homes.
She decided a community survey would help with the flood recovery.
“There were all these voices calling into the wind,” she said.
The survey was co-designed with her uni colleagues.
The survey is open now and is focused on the flood recovery.
“The information and data will be used and collated and is owned by the community,” Hanabeth said.
The survey is confidential and no one is identified and closes in late October.
Complete the survey here. It will take about 20 minutes.
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