Disaster Recovery Updates - 2022

The Food Pantry at GSAC has now moved to the Distribution Centre at the Lismore Showgrounds.

Community members in need of food can pick up what they need from the Distribution Centre at the Showgrounds. Please enter from the Eastern side.

Council would once again like to thank everyone who donated to the Food Pantry. And also the many volunteers who gave up their time over the last couple of weeks. You all deserve a good rest.

Mayor Steve Krieg met with the Governor General, the Hon. David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) and Mrs Hurley today to discuss the impact of the natural disaster and the road to recovery.

Along with General Manager John Walker, the Mayor briefed the Governor General on the latest information, with the Governor General and his wife expressing their sympathies for our community.

Governor General was then taken on a tour of the Lismore CBD, which included a visit to meet the organisers of the community led recovery effort outside of the Koori Mail building and spoke with locals to listen to their stories.

The Governor General also met business owners and was shown through CBD buildings such as Hotel Metropole to inspect the damage.

There is a free hourly bus shuttle between the CBD and Evacuation Centres at GSAC and SCU.

It is recommended volunteers use the service as a park and ride approach to entering the CBD to assist in reducing traffic congestion.

The Emergency Operational Centre has agreed to consolidate the GSAC Evacuation Centre into the larger Southern Cross University Evacuation Centre from today.

Council set up the GSAC Evacuation Centre as a temporary ‘overflow’ centre for our flood-affected community.

The SCU facility, operated by the NSW Department of Community and Justice, is better resourced than GSAC. It will also give evacuees easier access to the nearby Disaster Recovery Centre at SCU to help in their recovery.

The Food Pantry at GSAC will remain open for the time being.

Council would like to thank the many hundreds of volunteers and those who donated to the GSAC Evacuation Centre. We could not have operated it without your generous support.

GSAC will not be returning to normal operations as it will continued to be used to assist in the recovery of Lismore and our community.

We will keep you updated on the role of the facility once it is determined.

Yesterday the following additional financial and assistance packages were announced.

An additional two weekly disaster payments automatic at the current rate of $1,000 per adult and $400 per child. This will be automatic if you have already applied.

Support for Norco to support jobs and help restore their operations.

$10 million to support the mental health of school-aged children. This will be through the ‘Resilient Kids’ program.

$800,000 to extend the Regional Small Business Support Program. For more information, click here: https://recovery.gov.au/.../regional-small-business...

$10 million to boost existing legal assistance services.

$25 million for emergency relief, food relief and financial counselling services.

$6.9 million in support payments of $10,000 to assist early childhood education and care (ECEC) services that have been closed for more than seven days. More severely impacted services will also be able to apply for Community Child Care Fund Special Circumstances grants.

Resilient Lismore, a collaborative community-run disaster response network, has set up a website for the community to request help from volunteers.

The community organisation is also calling for as many community members as possible to register as volunteers. It is looking for people with a wide variety of skills and abilities and encourage as many people to register as possible.

They have a huge task ahead and volunteers might not arrive immediately, but Resilient Lismore is working as hard as it can to connect people with the help that is available.

Resilient Lismore also has tents set up at the Community Support Facility in the Harold Fredicks Carpark opposite Oaks Oval where a team can help you log your requests.

To register for help or to volunteer go to www.floodhelpnr.com.au

Resilient Lismore is an entirely volunteer-run network that was created as a response to the 2017 flood.

The Disaster Recovery Centre located at Southern Cross University Block V provides impacted community members with information and access to Service NSW, Service Australia, ACON, Dept of Housing, Dept of Community Justice, charities, numerous insurers, Resilience NSW, Legal Aid, Telstra and much more.

Operating hours are 9am-4.30pm, 7 days.

The Governor-General, who is today in Lismore, has shared a message of support from His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to all impacted by the floods in New South Wales and Queensland.

The message reads:

“It is with the greatest sadness that once again my wife and I express our distress, as well as immense concern and sympathy, following the tragic deaths and devastation caused by widespread flooding in Queensland and New South Wales.

“Having visited many of the affected areas over the years, I am deeply shocked by the extent of this flooding across rural areas, as well as in major cities such as Brisbane and Sydney.

“My wife and I were first struck by the appalling images from Lismore, and other communities in the Northern Rivers region, as well as in South East Queensland. We saw pictures of streets turned into fast flowing rivers and water levels rising to the rooftops of family homes. From the other side of the world we witnessed the valiant efforts of volunteers in small boats rescuing trapped neighbours and strangers alike. We saw interviews with people who, having rebuilt their homes and lives following previous floods, know they must go through the painful process of rebuilding again. It is incredibly distressing to learn that thousands of homes have been left uninhabitable, beyond repair.

“Our heartfelt thoughts are with those families and friends who have lost loved ones, and with the many thousands of people in Queensland and New South Wales whose livelihoods and businesses have received yet another blow after the privations caused by the Covid pandemic.

Nimbin Town water supply

Due to storm damage to Nimbin’s water supply, Level 3 Water Restrictions are still in effect for residents who are connected to water.

Restrictions are due to the damage to the pipes that deliver water from Nimbin weir to the storage holding dam. Council is exploring options to ensure supply prior, during and post the remediation phase. There is no current timeframe on when pipeline will be restored.

The implementation of water restrictions will enable Council to investigate and repair the infrastructure that has been damaged to ensure we can gain access and repair the Nimbin water supply.

To find out about what you can and cannot do under these restrictions go to https://lismore.nsw.gov.au/.../nimbin-placed-on-immediate....

Nimbin Rural water supply

Due to the extensive flood damage to a rural water main, no water is currently available for residents around Gungas Road and Kirkland Road. Water is being delivered to each household and alternatively there is water available for collection at the Lismore City Council site office at Gungas Road. There is no current timeframe on when pipeline will be restored.

For residents who are unable to have water delivered or collected, there is resupply support that can be logged via the following link

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/.../nsw-floods-request... or call 13 77 88.