2021 saw the Shire’s worst floods in nearly a decade. Council’s Flood Recovery effort has been considerable and ongoing ever since.
Mr. Alan Lawrance, Acting Director of Engineering, said the clean-up and recovery response has been effective and consistent.
“At the present time our team is prioritising recovery works and roads in order to meet the needs of the upcoming harvest”, said Mr. Lawrance.
“Council’s Flood Recovery team have been busy inspecting, coordinating, and repairing damaged roads across the Shire.”
“This is a big operation due to how large Moree Plains is. Our unsealed road network alone is over 2,000 km. Council thanks the community for their continued patience.”
“The Flood Recovery Team are doing an amazing job, under the circumstances, bringing many of our Shire roads back to a safe driving condition”, said Mr. Lawrance.
Together, the Federal and State Governments have provided emergency relief money, through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements program, this has greatly helped with our recovery effort. The process is ongoing, and Council is providing funding where possible while working with Transport for NSW to explore other options.
In late March, significant heavy rainfall led to the Mehi and Gwydir Rivers bursting their banks. Parts of Moree township were inundated by water and over 150 houses and businesses were damaged as a result. Other areas of the Shire were also hit extremely hard with villages and many remote properties being completely cut off for the flooding period.
The Shire’s complete flood recovery is expected to take up to two years to finish.
“Roads are essential to everyday life and we will make sure our Shire recovers”, added Mr. Lawrance.
Council urges the community to contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information on the flood recovery process.