Disaster assistance is now available in the local government areas (LGAs) of Bogan, Central Darling, Cobar, Coonamble, Gilgandra, Lachlan, Parkes and Warrumbungle following heavy rainfall and flooding that occurred in early April 2020.
Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Minister for Emergency Management David Littleproud said the storms had left the local councils with expensive repair bills.
“For several days the region was lashed by heavy rain that caused significant damage to properties and road infrastructure, and led to the temporary closure of major roads and highways across the region,” Minister Littleproud said.
“A range of practical assistance is now available to help communities and councils assess the damage and get on with clean-up efforts and repair to damaged infrastructure.
“We are working closely with the NSW Government to support communities and impacted councils recover as quickly as possible from this storm event.”
New South Wales Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott said the SES received more than 540 Requests for Assistance for the two disaster events.
“The storms caused extensive damage to properties and significant disruption to the wider community due to flooding and impacts to local infrastructure,” Minister Elliott said.
“The assistance being announced today will help cover the costs associated with the operational response and repairing damaged essential public assets, such as roads.”
Assistance available under the DRFA may include:
- help for eligible people whose homes or belongings have been damaged
- support for affected local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets
- concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations
- freight subsidies for primary producers, and
- grants to eligible non-profit organisations
If you are uninsured and have low income, for information on personal hardship and distress assistance, please contact the Disaster Welfare Assistance Line on 1800 018 444. To apply for a concessional loan or grant, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au
Further information on disaster assistance is available on the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website at www.disasterassist.gov.au and the NSW emergency information and response website at www.emergency.nsw.gov.au
Source: Australian Government
