Latest news with #MattHeap
Sky News AU
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Sky News AU
NSW floods: More than 800 properties deemed ‘uninhabitable' as 6,500 damage assessments completed
Hundreds of properties have now been deemed 'uninhabitable' by the New South Wales State Emergency Service in the aftermath of deadly flooding that has caused devastation across the state. The civil defence service is continuing to resupply communities isolated and assess areas damaged by last week's weather event that killed five people in flood-related tragedies. Matt Heap from NSW SES told on Tuesday that over 800 properties, which ranged from residential to industrial buildings, have already been deemed 'uninhabitable'. The figure comes as about 6,500 property assessments have so far been completed. NSW SES reported on Monday it had responded to 7,713 incidents during the disaster, which included 794 flood rescues. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday announced the activation of a one-off Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment across nine local government areas. The payment, which is $1,000 to eligible adults and $400 to eligible children, will be made available from 2pm on Wednesday to people in certain areas. Mr Albanese said the financial offering payment will assist locals who have "suffered the most serious impacts" of the floods, including incurring significant damage to their homes, serious injury or "loss of a loved one". Meanwhile, the NSW government has opened a number of recovery centres in parts of the Hunter and Mid North Coast areas on Tuesday as floodwaters continue to subside. The centres are offering services such as mental health support and insurance guidance to those affected in hard-hit communities including Taree, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Macksville and Maitland. NSW Minister for Recovery and Small Business Janelle Saffin said people are 'doing it tough' in those areas affected. 'We are going to be here the long haul, not just for the immediate clean-up, but for the months ahead as people begin to rebuild their lives,' she said in a statement. 'It's going to be a tough process but I want the community to know that we will be here with you.'
ABC News
27-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Almost 800 properties 'uninhabitable' after record floods on Mid North Coast
Almost 800 properties have been declared uninhabitable as a massive clean-up and recovery operation continues in the wake of record-breaking floods in New South Wales. More than 3,500 people from NSW government agencies are on the ground in the disaster area in the NSW Mid North Coast and Hunter regions. They include 2,220 NSW State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers. SES damage assessment teams have so far inspected more than 5,300 flooded properties. SES spokesperson Matt Heap said the workload was intense. "Our efforts today will continue to focus on resupplying the thousands of isolated residents, completing washouts and conducting damage assessments in communities," he said. There are concerns that efforts to resupply isolated properties and communities with food and medicine could be hampered by more bad weather today. Flights may have to be grounded with wind gusts predicted to reach up to 80 or 90 kilometres per hour in some areas. MidCoast Mayor Claire Pontin said more than 2,000 flood-damaged buildings had been inspected across her local government area (LGA) so far, with about one in four deemed uninhabitable. She said many more could be added to that list as inspections continue across the region. "They're going through all the businesses and all the houses, and the number was up to 527," Cr Pontin said. "It doesn't mean that it can't be repaired, it means that they can't be lived in for now." The MidCoast mayor said it was possible more than 5,000 homes had been damaged by the floods across the LGA. Cr Pontin said she had spoken to NSW Recovery Minister Janelle Saffin about emergency accommodation options. "We are going to have a lot of people with nowhere to live," she said. "[The minister] is looking into providing caravans and accommodation pods that can be dropped off in people's driveways. "They can actually use that to sleep in and they will still be able to access their water and their power from their house." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese toured the flood-ravaged region today, announcing additional funding to support affected communities. Residents in nine areas who have had significant property damage or lost a loved one will receive a one-off $1,000 payment. Locals who have lost work in 19 flood-affected areas will also be eligible to apply for 13 weeks of income support. Mr Albanese said those affected could apply for help from tomorrow afternoon. "There are still massive challenges and we need to understand, and certainly the government understands, this isn't something that will go away in a matter of days or weeks, or even months," he said. "This will take some time, the recovery."
