Angela Nutt in her clothing shop on Molesworth Street, Lismore. Credit:Kate Geraghty In a town that has historically always been vulnerable to destructive floods, it was the longest-serving business owners who, on Wednesday, appeared closest to reopening as usual. Alex Coronakes, who runs the family-owned Tropicana Fruit Shop in Keen Street, is another who acted immediately and "lost nothing". "I do not mean this disrespectfully but there are quite a few newish traders in Lismore and with that comes inexperience," he told Fairfax Media. "When the warning arrived, many of them didn't think it was going to be that bad. Had they been around in '74, they would have realised only too well how bad it can be." While yet more rain sporadically fell in Lismore on Wednesday, it did not dampen the growing sense of community among traders, even though some had lost everything – and may never recover.

A man and his dog walk past piles of water-damaged items. Credit:Kate Geraghty Mr Coronakes confirmed it was "doubtful" his shattered relatives, who run the town's central newsagency, would reopen. "Perhaps it's shock, perhaps it's too early to call but there are numerous others who are currently wondering whether it or not to call it a day," he said. Scenes of devastation on Country Lane in Lismore's CBD. Credit:Kate Geraghty Many traders, meanwhile, have spoken of a growing belief that Lismore needs to rethink its flood warning policy.

Michael Haddin has been manager at Better Home Living for 17 years and, all up, has worked in the same building for 30 years straight. Rural fire service volunteers help clean up damaged shops in Lismore. Credit:Kate Geraghty "There are no two ways about it, we have to collectively come up with a new strategy for dealing with these events," he said. "There's already talk of a town meeting to discuss what should change in the future and how we implement that." While Mrs Nutt agrees that is a good idea, she said she was hoping this great flood was her "last". "Fortunately, they don't come around too often," she said.

Six lives were lost in the worst floods to hit northern NSW in 40 years, with the cost of cleaning up the damage reaching $200 million. In flood-ravaged Tumbulgum, about an hour north of Lismore, locals were mounting their own clean-up effort as they rallied around a young girl who survived a river tragedy that killed three members of her family, including her mother Stephanie King. Eight-year-old Chloe May managed to escape her family's white van when it slid from a muddy road on Monday and sank into the swollen Tweed River. Her seven-year-old brother, 11-year-old sister and 43-year-old mother died in the car. The community has raised more than $72,000 for Chloe and her father Matt Kabealo on the crowd-funding website GoFundMe. Tweed Shire mayor Katie Milne said deaths and devastation from the floods have "absolutely gutted people".

She said the region had been "completely smashed" by floodwaters, and while residents felt desperate and heartbroken, she hoped the spirit of people would help rebuild the community. A recovery centre has opened in Murwillumbah and Ms Milne has launched the Mayor Appeal Fund to provide assistance to local residents. "The Tweed is a wonderful and diverse community but it's not an affluent one, and given the scale of the devastation we desperately need help to get back on our feet," she said. Tumbulgum remains under evacuation orders from the State Emergency Service. SES spokeswoman Becky Gollings expected those orders to remain for the next day or two. "We're just waiting on council to get in and assess the sewerage situation," she told AAP on Wednesday.

Loading "I know it's incredibly frustrating for residents and they'd be keen to get back, but it still can be quite dangerous - there are lots of hazards about." with AAP