Mayor praises SES, Council response to wild weather

Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller has praised the efforts of the State Emergency Service as Liverpool City Council staff continue cleaning up after torrential rain caused flooding and storm damage around the Local Government Area.

Fallen trees and flooding led to power cuts, road closures and damaged vehicles after about 300mm of rain fell. Moorebank and Chipping Norton were badly affected, with the SES ordering residents to evacuate on Sunday night. The SES received nearly 450 calls for assistance over the weekend.

“We were lucky to avoid serious injury in this wild weather but it really has left a huge clean-up job,” Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller said. “Council crews worked through the weekend and simply haven’t stopped.

“It has been a massive test of our staff and I’ve been very proud to once again see their strong commitment to the community in action. And of course we are also very grateful for the great work of the SES, who put themselves in harm’s way to rescue residents and keep us safe.

“Many Council facilities have been affected and we’re still working to reopen some of them. Our parks, for instance, are currently all closed while we assess the damage. Most should be reopened this weekend subject to ground checks.”

Council is running extra household clean-up collections for residents affected by the storm. Clean-up collections can be booked by phoning 1300 36 2170.

Council opened the E.G. Whitlam Centre as an evacuation centre on the weekend at the request of the Regional Emergency Management Office.

Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre was closed to the public on Monday and Tuesday due to flooding near electrical equipment. Holsworthy Early Learning Centre was closed due to a power outage.

Council staff were forced to relocate temporarily after one floor at Council’s main offices was flooded.