50,000 people isolated in unprecedented flooding in parts of NSW

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Some communities are beginning the process of cleaning up after the record-breaking flooding caused extensive damage across the Mid North Coast and Hunter region.

Transcript

00:00Tens of thousands of property owners across the New South Wales Mid-North Coast and Hunter

00:06regions are now beginning the process of clean-up and reconstruction in the wake of this weather

00:12event. The event costs five lives and there's been hundreds of rescues over the past week

00:18by air and by boat. The Federal Government says that income assistance will be available

00:23for businesses and individuals will be entitled for short-term assistance to help them get

00:28through. The disaster recovery funding arrangements between the 19 councils is a joint collaboration

00:34between the New South Wales and Commonwealth Government. It assists councils with that

00:38immediate response as well as a whole range of clean-up assistance. We're also helping people

00:45on low incomes buy essential goods as well as assistance for small businesses and primary

00:50producers. We've also got our disaster recovery allowance now available for four local council

00:56areas and that's income support for people who have been cut off for employment or their

01:00employment's been directly impacted. So that will become available from 2pm on Monday.

01:06While some large communities like Tari have opened up as the floodwaters have receded, others

01:11like Kempsey, Wingham through to Gloucester and other communities in the Hunter region remain

01:17cut off. The State Emergency Service has been working to resupply those communities as they

01:21wait for the floodwaters to recede.

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