A multi-agency team including 400 personnel, helicopters, and equipment is being mobilised to help the clean-up effort following extreme floods across northern NSW.
Deputy Premier Paul Toole said emergency services are working around the clock to support their communities, alongside local government.
“I want to thank all our emergency services and volunteers for their tireless work in these extremely challenging circumstances and reassure our regional communities we have their back now and in the weeks and months ahead,” Mr Toole said.
“We are also working closely with local councils to coordinate waste collection and management to ensure services return as quick as possible and the long road to recovery can begin.”
Nationals Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience Steph Cooke said the taskforce is comprised of personnel from the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), Fire & Rescue NSW and the Australian Defence Force.
“We are doing everything in our power to kickstart the clean-up effort, beginning today in the Northern Rivers region now that the all-clear has been issued by the NSW State Emergency Service,” Ms Cooke said.
“With floodwaters now receding around Lismore, three RFS trucks have successfully travelled from Coffs Harbour to Wollongbar equipped with supplies to create a base camp.
“The immense scale of the flooding is unprecedented and we are putting equally unprecedented resources into the significant clean-up and long-term recovery effort.”
