And now the search is on to learn the identity of the girl and find out where she is now.

The photograph is part of a series Maitland and District Historical Society has put together to raise awareness about the clean-up after significant floods, including the one in February 1955.

""Does anyone know who this little girl is? She'd be about 70 now, so she still possibly lives around here," treasurer Jennifer O'Neill said.

"I also have another photograph of her afterwards, standing with the doll."

The collection, which was on display at the Maitland Show, has been designed with one thought in mind.

"What if we had another Lismore in Maitland?," Mrs O'Neill said.

"I'm not trying to give people some shock treatment, I want to make people think.

Watch: See part of the exhibition in The Mercury's video

"Are you in an area that needs to evacuate or will you be isolated? Do you need to have long-life food ready? What will you do if you don't have power?," she said.

"If you stay, are you prepared to share your home? People might think I mean other people but I'm making them aware that snakes and reptiles like to take refuge in places too."

Mrs O'Neill said knowing what could happen in Maitland was an important step in preparing for a future flood.

"The last three floods we had were technically minor compared to what could happen," she said.

In other news:

On February 23, 1955 heavy rain began falling and by February 27 there was widespread flooding in the Maitland area. Researchers later found the total flood volume for the entire Hunter River system was enough to fill Sydney Harbour more than four times.

Read more: Photos and videos of the 1955 flood in Maitland