Businesses return to normal after minor flood disappears

“The water was 10cm high when it was at its peak 15 months ago,” Mr Howe said.

While Mr Howe was grateful that the flood did not reach the higher levels of the one from 2022, he was concerned about when it might happen in the future.

“As you can see here, it is flowing quickly, and fortunately, it is within the river banks,” Mr Howe said.

Lisa Froon from Cafe Rochester happily made a coffee for a local when asked about open businesses.

“We are so happy to be open and serve our loyal customers great food and fantastic coffee,” Ms Froon said.

“We love seeing tourists come to our resilient town, and we would love to make your visit to Rochester memorable.”

Angie Simpson from Maxavily Hair Salon also had a similar sentiment.

“I’m happy and relieved that the waters didn’t reach the same level as the time before,” she said.

“It’s great to have our customers back, and I look forward to meeting all of my customers for a hair appointment next time.”

Many businesses in town were open, including hairdressers, Major’s IGA, cafes and Mitre10.

Some of the remaining businesses will reopen this week.

Fortunately, none of the stores had sustained damage due to sandbags being placed in preparation for the flooding event.