As screams for help rang out from the rooftops of Lismore yesterday, Vincent Marychurch and Jeff Harris got to work.
With the State Emergency Service (SES) swamped — and, at one point, "held back" due to the dangerous conditions — the duo took matters into their own hands.
People in the northern NSW city are no strangers to floods, but the speed at which yesterday's record-breaking deluge surged through the streets surprised many.
Vincent and Jeff set out in a tinnie at 4am and saved more than 25 people over the course of four hours.
Leah Harris says she spent 15 minutes on hold with the SES and a similar amount of time waiting after calling triple-0, while she was trying to get help for a friend stranded in central Lismore yesterday.
"One of my girlfriends who lives in the CBD rang me and said, 'I'm going to die' … She and her three-year-old sat in a kayak tied to a clothesline waiting to be saved for four hours," she said.
Despite the dangers, Ms Harris' partner Vincent and stepfather Jeff followed the screams.
"They rescued people on oxygen machines, a lady who had one leg, people in wheelchairs, one lady who they couldn't even get in the boat — they had to drag her," she said.
"My stepdad had to jump out of the boat and go underneath the water and lift people up into the boat.
"They've saved so many lives. It is absolutely devastating."
The Wilsons River rose so quickly many people in Lismore woke yesterday morning to the realisation the city's levee had been breached and that they were already trapped.
The river peaked last night at 14.4 metres — more than 2m above the previous record flood in 1954.
SES commissioner Carlene York said she "absolutely understood" why people were taking matters into their own hands and revealed some of the organisation's crews had been "held back" due to the dangerous conditions.
"If my expert flood rescue technicians find the water is dangerous, and we are holding them back … the communities should take heed," she said.
Yesterday, Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg criticised the local SES for only having two rescue boats but Ms York said that wasn't true.
"There are many more than two boats in the area, Lismore itself has at least seven boats and we have sent more boats from surrounding areas to help," she said.
"The difficult being it has been at night … the rivers are raging and it can be quite dangerous for our rescuers and we don't want to put our volunteers' lives at risk."
Lismore resident Mick Smith and his housemate Rory climbed onto their home's roof to avoid the torrent.
They were there for six hours after calling the SES.
"We just waited for things to get worse … panic set in," he said.
Mr Smith said he thought they might not make it until he saw a boat of locals lending a hand.
"I was relieved. We had seen the SES go past and yell out to us they couldn't get to us as there was too much debris in the way and said they'll try again later.
"And then these guys rocked up and said, 'We'll get in to you', and they did."
Mr Smith said emergency services in the region needed more resources.
At one point yesterday morning, the SES received 374 calls for help in half an hour, while stretched crews eventually went on to make around 1,000 flood rescues yesterday, 80 per cent of which were in Lismore.
"It would be nice if there were more people tasked to do those sort of things … we need more boats and resources to help people," Mr Smith said.
Rain is expected to continue to fall in northern NSW this week, and authorities have warned it will be days before the danger subsides.
Several communities remain cut off and the Australian Defence Force is assisting in some areas.
