"I'd heard of the flood but didn't realise [initially] it was an actual life-and-death situation," she said.

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The devastated town in the Northern Rivers was Ms Mackley's home for five years and she felt moved to gather as many donations as she could to help the reeling community.

More than 2.5 tonnes of donations from Gunnedah have made their way to the flood-ravaged area after Ms Mackley sent out an online call for support. Tamworth has also rallied.

One lot of donations was driven to the town by Lismore local Trent Dobrunz who had been stranded in Tamworth, unable to get back home after travelling away for a swap meet.

Ms Mackley and her partner Dion Betts packed their vehicles with more and have made two trips to Bendemeer where the donations were loaded onto trucks for delivery.

She said donations ranged from wheelbarrows to Weet-Bix and she was "so proud" of Gunnedah for its generosity.

"It's times like this I love who we are as a community and a nation; we band together in the toughest times to help each other out," she said.

"The power of Facebook, of social media, has been absolutely phenomenal, connecting everyone and organising everything."

Ms Mackley and her family had to evacuate their own Gunnedah home in November because of flooding, but the speed at which the waters inundated Lismore these last few weeks has blown her away.

"It's horrifying and it's scary not knowing when Mother Nature is going to stop. The scary part is waiting and hoping it will stop," Ms Mackley said.

"When we were flooded, there was a huge delay between the actual event and when the recovery kicked in, and I knew that when I saw how fast the water was rising, and because I'd been through one flood in my time there ... I thought, 'We need to do something because they're going to be without resources for a long time'.

"It made me spur to action, rather than thoughts and prayers."

Ms Mackley said she was grateful to her family and the many locals who had been so quick to offer assistance.

"To my friends in Lismore and the Northern Rivers, we love you and know that you are resilient and amazing humans," she said.

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