Next steps for long-term recovery following flood
With the immediate emergency response to the Saturday 6 April flooding behind us, we’re looking at what support impacted residents and local businesses will need in the longer-term to recover.
The past week has seen Council staff on the ground since the early hours of Saturday morning. Council’s priority was on getting roads reopened, clearing blockages, and removing debris and silt.
The NSW Government has established two Recovery Assistance Centres in Thirroul and Warrawong which bring together interagency specialists in one location to answer questions and offer impacted residents and businesses support. Then on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 April, additional Recovery Assistance Centres will be set up at Thirroul Community Centre and Dapto Ribbonwood Community Centre.
We'll continue to share more information about the centres on our Flood Updates and Recovery webpage.
We will also have on-site Customer Service staff available to provide face-to-face advice to community members on Monday 15, Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 April at Helensburgh Library and at Dapto Ribbonwood Centre on Monday 15 through to Thursday 18 April. This is in addition to Council’s presence at the Recovery Assistance Centres and the support offered through our Customer Service number (02) 4227 7111.
Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said that the rain event demonstrated the strength of local neighbourhoods and communities and their compassion and care during a time of crisis.
“Thank you to everyone who stepped up and offered support to those impacted by the rain over the weekend. This event has demonstrated how important it is for us all to work collectively to manage and respond to more frequent and intense storms,” Cr Bradbery said.
“We live in a beautiful part of the world, but we have always known that our location comes with inherent hazards thanks to our climate and topography. While flash flooding is to be expected, the extent of damage caused by this event is significant and it will take a while for our city to get back on its feet.”
A city prone to flash flooding
Wollongong is a city that’s known to be prone to flash flooding, thanks to the proximity to the escarpment.
Tides – like the king tide we had on Saturday morning – also play a role in how stormwater behaves during a storm event. With climate change, the chance of more frequent natural disasters, will only increase.
Since the1998 flood, Council has continually invested in stormwater management infrastructure. This focus continues within the draft budget for the next four years which will invest $26 million for additional stormwater infrastructure.
Council’s response to the Saturday flooding
Since Saturday morning, Council’s Customer Service team have taken over 2450 total calls, a 34% increase on the usual number we’d receive in the same period.
Wollongong City Council General Manager Greg Doyle said that residents continue to call Council for advice and information on post-flood clean-up.
“It’s been an extraordinary and exhausting week for many here in the City of Wollongong, especially for our emergency service responders, those impacted and Council staff on the ground. Our staff have been working hard to respond to the needs of our community,” Mr Doyle said.
“We’ve seen almost double the number of customers take materials to Whytes Gully tip (the Wollongong Waste and Resource Recovery Park) on Sunday, and almost a 190 per cent increase in the number of people going to the tip to dispose of waste on Monday and Tuesday this week.
“Remondis who are scheduling free, additional on-call waste collections for flood-affected residents, on Monday took more than 1100 requests for kerbside collections, with more than 600 identified as urgent kerbside collection.
“At the same time, our staff continue to assess the damage to Council’s critical infrastructure, including local roads and Council-managed buildings. One example of this is the closure of the southern lane of Nicholson Road in Woonona. As a result of the recent floods, a section of the road has been undermined and requires urgent repair work.
“In Helensburgh, near the train station, sections of road are closed for urgent repair work as Wilsons Creek Road and Vera Road / Old Station Road have been impacted by the storm event.
“Thanks to the Federal and State governments’ Disaster Declaration we’re able to access much-needed support to get on top of issues as they are identified. While we’re working to get the city back on its feet as soon as possible, and event of this size and scale means it will take time. This funding will helps all of us get back on our feet quicker and allow Council to address urgent works sooner.”
For more information and support, see our Flood Updates & Recovery webpage.
Where do we go from here?
Image: Since the early hours of Saturday morning, Council crews have been assessing damage, clearing damages and reopening roads.
Council estimates that it will take about three months before we can get a complete picture of the impact of this rain event from an environmental and physical assets point of view.
Councillor Bradbery said that for some residents, this impact may last even longer.
“Council’s role going forward will mean looking beyond immediate recovery towards how we can learn from this disaster to become a more resilient community,” Cr Bradbery said.
“Our geotechnical and floodplain staff are on the ground collecting data about this rain event and will use this information to help us understand how existing infrastructure performed and can be used to inform future modelling and planning.
“The community will continue to play an important role in monitoring potential threats. Around 60 percent of identified water courses in our LGA are on private property. This means we need residents to be mindful of placing structures, landscaping materials or waste around these waterways as this can contribute to the debris load during significant rain events such as what we experienced last weekend. We can all contribute to the safety and wellbeing of our community.”
The emotional toll of a disaster
The impact of a disaster can be very distressing – even when you are not directly affected. There are a range of resources to help people during recovery.
The Australian Red Cross and Salvation Army are available to provide support where needed. Support services can also be accessed by calling the NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511 or Service NSW on 13 77 88.
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