Flood assistance activated for 13 local government areas

The Queensland Government has activated assistance for 13 local government areas in response to widespread flooding rains caused by a monsoonal low this week.

Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said he had approved the recommendation to activate the joint State and Commonwealth-funded Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) for the local government areas of Bowen, Burdekin, Burnett, Charters Towers, Dalrymple, Mackay, Mirani, Miriam Vale, Nebo, Peak Downs, Thuringowa, Townsville and Whitsunday.

“Assistance may be activated for additional areas as damage assessment and clean-up work continues,” Mr Roberts said.

“The Department has collated preliminary estimates of more than $15 million in damages to public assets, primarily roads, in these 13 local government areas as a result of the heavy rains, wind gusts, flash flooding and rising river levels generated by the monsoonal low,” Mr Roberts said.

“The monsoonal low may have moved offshore, but we are still counting the costs.”

Mr Roberts said of the 13 local government areas, only two – Burnett and Miriam Vale – have not already been activated for other flooding events this year.

“In total, there are now 73 local government areas where NDRRA assistance has been activated this year. In 25 of those areas, NDRRA assistance has been activated twice this year.”

Mr Roberts said while an NDRRA activation for a whole local government area did not mean all areas were flooded, let alone received any rainfall, it was important to activate assistance to ensure affected residents, primary producers, small business operators and councils could access assistance.

The assistance, under the joint State-Commonwealth Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA), in these local government areas can provide:

·concessional loans for primary producers and small businesses affected by flooding;

·freight subsidies for producers;

·personal hardship assistance;

·recovery of costs for restoring public assets, such as roads, and for costs of local councils' extraordinary disaster management, and

·assistance for sporting clubs and other non-profit organisations who cannot provide for their own recovery to restore assets to pre-disaster standard.

Personal hardship assistance to individuals and families, and assistance for non-profit organisations is administered by the Department of Communities. The Department of Communities can be contacted on 1800 440 074.

Concessional loans for producers and small businesses should contact QRAA (Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority) on 1800 623 946.

To apply for freight subsidies, producers should contact the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) on 13 25 23 or their local DPI&F inspector.

For an updated map of NDRRA activations across Queensland, please e-mail kirby.anderson@ministerial.qld.gov.au.  The map is regularly updated and published on the website www.disaster.qld.gov.au.

14 February 2008
Media contact: Kirby Anderson 0418 197 350