Until November, Fishlake, a small and sleepy Doncaster village with only a couple of cafes, a pub and a church at its heart, was little known to most outside the area.

But after heavy rainfall brought parts of northern England and the Midlands to a standstill, it became the centre of a media frenzy. Approximately 140 of about 200 homes in the village were swamped in sewage-contaminated floodwater after the River Don burst its banks.

“It’s hard to describe just how serious it was, it’s a miracle nobody was killed,” said Peter Pridham, a churchwarden at St Cuthbert’s, which has acted as a storage hub for vast amounts of food, clothing, toys and cleaning products donated to residents since 8 November. “What came through the village started as a flood and turned into a sort of miniature tsunami as a large volume of water broke through.”

On a bone-chilling Wednesday in mid-December, a day after the final main road into the village had been reopened, only the mud, debris, and skips brimming with ruined furniture lining Fishlake’s roads remained as obvious evidence of the deluge. But, for residents, the chaos continued.

Many of those whose homes were severely damaged are still in temporary accommodation outside the South Yorkshire village, while a number have taken to living in caravans on their own driveways, including Joanne Ambler, a mental health nurse, and Chris Dewrow, a builder, both 54.

“Sorry about the smell,” said Ambler, leading the way through the couple’s scarred bungalow on Grove Road, a cul-de-sac that has been particularly devastated. “We’ve lost everything. Last week we went out, and I hadn’t even got makeup – it’s things like that that remind you.”

The past month has been particularly difficult for the couple, as Ambler’s father died a fortnight before the flood. “I haven’t even had time to grieve for him because it’s all happened at once,” said Ambler, who will return to work in January after taking time off to come to terms with the situation.

Joanne Ambler’s bungalow was flooded. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

In the living room, where a dehumidifier constantly whirred, a knee-height line where the water reached was still visible on contaminated blinds. But the couple, who are sharing their motorised home with their two pet dogs, will have to wait for the go-ahead from their insurance company before reparation works – which are likely to take months – can begin.

Residents who are either not covered for flood damage on home insurance, or are yet to receive payouts, have so far been eligible for two recovery grants to help with immediate needs – £500 from Doncaster council, and £200 from a local charity, South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation.

A few doors down, a retired couple, Mary and Craig Elliot, were packing the last boxes of their salvageable possessions to store at a friend’s home after visiting the church to stock up on tins of food. They have been living between relatives and their caravan in Scarborough since the floodwater rose up to the windowsills in their bungalow.

Craig is scathing of the help they received from authorities, claiming it had been “too little too late”. He added: “We asked [the council] for sandbags and they brought three for the street. Once we’d flooded, they sent the army in. I’m not knocking the army lads because they’re doing what they’re sent to do, but they said, ‘Do you want sandbagging?’ and I said, ‘What, to keep it in?’”

The interior walls of the bungalow, which are shrouded in black mould from the damp, will need to be stripped back to bare bricks before refurbishment can start, but a month on, the Elliots were also waiting to find out how much damage their home insurance would cover.

Craig Elliot packed possessions to store at a friend’s home. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

In the absence of so many residents, Fishlake’s pub, the Hare and Hounds, was deserted at lunchtime. In the fortnight after the flood, it offered refuge for affected residents and their pet dogs. Although Doncaster council will pay for mud-stained carpets and upholstered seats to be replaced, its owners, Angie and Scott Godfrey, are still feeling the strain.

The Old Butchers cafe, co-owned by Claire Holling, has also made financial losses, on account of its staff spending three weeks largely cooking free food – including curries donated by a Muslim charity based outside Doncaster – for residents and rescue workers. “We haven’t been getting any income. It’s had a massive impact on our business and it’s going to take a while to recover,” said Holling.

Still, she added, from the start of the flood, putting the village first had been a given. “There’s always been a strong sense of community in Fishlake with it being such a small place, but it’s definitely got stronger,” said Holling.

There is clear evidence for her assertion. On Christmas Day, despite their own woes, the Hare and Hounds laid on a free dinner for 41 people unable to cook at home.

Lives have been blighted by last month’s events and ensuing battles to restore homes in Fishlake, but for residents such as Ambler, the sense they were not alone has ensured they remain unbroken. “We’ve spoken to more people since the flood than we have in the 15 months we’ve been living here,” she added. “When you see the amount of help that has been given, it’s so moving it makes you want to cry.”