North Mid Coast communities begin flood clean up but further gale force winds are expected

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Floodwaters on the NSW Mid North Coast have mostly receded but thousands remain isolated. Gale force winds are predicted to hit the region later this evening prompting fears of further damage to infrastructure. Kinne Ring is the Mayor of Kempsey Shire Council and says there is still a long way to go.

Transcript

00:00We're moving into the recovery phase, so clean up is well and truly underway in our CBD down

00:08in Smithtown and Gladstone where homes were inundated. It's been fantastic to see fire

00:14and rescue teams from all over New South Wales just getting in there, helping our council crews

00:19clear out the rubbish. It's been quite devastating and confronting for our small businesses and our

00:24communities to see all of their belongings out on the street, but the clean up is happening quite

00:31quickly, which is pleasing to see. I'm really hoping to hear that there's going to be Cat C and

00:36Cat D funding. A lot of our homeowners and a lot of our businesses who were impacted didn't have

00:41insurance and they've lost in tens and in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars to this

00:47flood and having access to grant funding as opposed to loans will really help them rebuild and move

00:54forward. Do you have any people who are still isolated who are cut off by floodwaters? At the

00:59moment, Hat Head and Crescent Head are still isolated. As you can imagine, with just the level

01:06of disaster we've experienced, our road network has been severely damaged and it has also taken

01:11time for that water to recede. But our council crews are working really hard to assess all those roads,

01:17repair them and open them when they've been safe to do so. But it has been a long time isolation for

01:23some of our community and my heart really goes out to them in this troubling time.

01:27Well, how much help are you getting there? There are ADF personnel heading to the area to

01:32help out with the clean up. Is that enough or do you want more help on the ground?

01:37At the moment, the ADF isn't currently with us, but we do have SES crews from all over New South

01:42Wales as well as Fire and Rescue. But it would be really good to have the ADF here just to help

01:47with that clean up. The sheer amount of waste that's coming out of the CBD out of people's homes is

01:54is truly astounding. And just getting rid of that as quickly as possible is a huge priority,

02:00as well as that initial clean up of our roads. And our farmers have also been hit really hard

02:06and cleaning up some of those properties is going to take quite some time.

02:10So how are people coping then? Can you not just with the hard work, but also mentally?

02:16You know, these times can really bring out the best in people, but it can also bring out the worst.

02:21But I think I walked around our CBD today. I talked to business owners. I talked to

02:27Fire and Rescue Crews, sorry. And I've talked to community members and there's quite a feeling of

02:34solidarity. I think in our community in particular, we've experienced about 26 disasters in the last

02:4010 years and we know how we have to come together in these times. We have to help one another out

02:46because if help doesn't come, we've only got each other. So it's been really pleasing to see

02:50just people banding together, people getting in, people doing the hard work. So yeah, that's been

02:56really great to see. Supermarkets have been closed across Kempsey for the past few days, I understand.

03:02Kitty, do you know when they're likely to reopen? We're seeing our supermarkets open back up now.

03:09Unfortunately for one business, our central IGA, their supermarket was completely inundated with

03:16water. They lost hundreds of thousands in stock. They lost their delivery truck. And that's been

03:21really devastating. Woolworths, Coles and Aldi are now coming back open, which has been really good.

03:28So I think for about three or four days, we only had really tiny supermarkets servicing

03:34thousands of people. But as we've seen supermarkets come back open and our CBD as well,

03:40people are finally getting access to the supplies they need.

03:44Strong winds are forecast for the area later today. Another weather event for people to cope with.

03:50Is that something that people are preparing for now?

03:54Yeah. So yesterday afternoon, I went up to the SES with Minister McBain, Minister Staffan,

04:00and we were talking to the SES about the forecasts that are coming. Unfortunately, we've had a really

04:05wet few months, particularly here in the Kempsey Shire. And everywhere is completely just soaked with water.

04:12And with the forecasted high winds, sorry, we're just really nervous to see what trees that could bring

04:19down and what that will mean for people getting around the Shire.

04:24How is your house in all of this, Kenny?

04:27I've been lucky enough to fare pretty well. I live upriver, so I haven't been in much danger.

04:36So I've been trying to get out as much as possible, see my community, advocate for them as much as

04:42possible, because we're going to need a lot of help, not only now, but as recovery moves forward.

04:49As these events are quite acute. And in that acute phase, you do see lots of

04:56support in terms of fire and rescue in terms of the ADF coming. But I know as we move forward,

05:02it's just going to be a long road ahead and we're going to need to make sure we have everything in

05:06place so that we can rebuild, you know, particularly as it's a massive region that's been hit.

05:13So I do have concerns about competition for resources, about, you know, having access to

05:20the things we need so we can repair roads and different things like that.

05:25Kenny Ring, the Mayor of Kempsey, thank you for taking the time,

05:28a very busy time for you, we know, to speak to us. Thank you.

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