Framed image of Virgin Mary on top of household debris

DateFebruary 2022 - March 2022

Object number00056529

NamePhotograph

MediumPhotographic print on paper, colour

DimensionsOverall: 427 x 595 mm,

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis series of photographs was taken by photographer Natalie Grono in the aftermath of the historic eastern Australian floods in February-March 2022. It is a series of 16 photographs depicting the impact the floods had on the structure of the community and on the individuals living there. This photo shows a pile of rubble, including household items, with a framed image of the Virgin Mary in the foreground.HistoryThis series of photographs was taken by photographer Natalie Grono in the aftermath of the historic eastern Australian floods in February-March 2022. The Northern Rivers region of northern NSW has historically been prone to flooding, with record floods of 12.2m occurring in 1954 and 1974. The town of Lismore is Australia’s most flood-prone suburb. On the 28th February 2022, floodwaters in the town of Lismore reached 14.4m, a height that residents and emergency services were ill-prepared for. Evacuations were again ordered a month later, when the area was flooded again. Original weather forecasts underestimated rainfall in the area in the lead-up to the flood’s peak, and could not predict that the waters would reach the levels they did. Emergency services, including the SES, were overwhelmed by the volume of calls for help, and many civilians became involved in rescue efforts. After floodwaters subsided, the affected communities begun to clear mud and rubble from their town, something that Grono’s photos capture. SignificanceThe flooding experienced in on Australia’s east coast in early 2022 was of historic proportions, and Lismore's story became representative for the impact these floods have. The photographs depict the reality faced by residents in the receding floodwaters and capture both the desperateness of the situation and the weary resilience of community members during one of Australia’s most destructive and displacing floods. They are significant, because they represent the struggle of Australia's communities to keep connected to a rapidly changing, unpredictable environment.