Storm and tornado recovery

BUILDINGS ASSESSMENTS

The buildings that Council and contractors (Structural Engineers, Electricians, Plumbers, and Building Certifiers) have attended and assessed has resulted in the following:

11 Residences declared fully not-habitable; 9 Residences will likely require full demolition, and 2 have adjoining properties that may be affected 1 Residence is partially not habitable

Note the assessments above have been the result of SES calls. News reports and social media outlets have shown that the list above is not likely to be comprehensive as some affected parties have contacted insurance companies directly and clearly not the properties we attended.

WATER

Potable water supply was restored to normal operation and impact due to the prolonged outage has been mitigated to all but 1 reservoir that remains without power and requiring manual monitoring and operation. Water Treatment Plant (WTP) – Outage on Thursday night until 4pm Friday. Operation and water production wasn’t restored to normal until approximately 9pm Friday night requiring extension of normal operation staff to manage. Water storage levels were not returned to normal until Saturday at approximately 6pm. During this time, the WTP required extra staff on site to manage and treat water. Todalla Pump station or North West Outer Zone power went out on Friday and back on last night, the reservoir overflowed from when the power went out resulting in a loss of approximately 20kL to be confirmed. The UNE Reservoir is still out of power due to the collapse of a building that supplies that site – redirection of power or alternate source is currently being explored, in the interim, the reservoir is being managed manually. Note further electrical works will be required to re-direct power to correct network supply. This will result in outages that will again affect the WTP.

SEWER

Sewerage supply is functional and currently the only recorded damage or loss has been due to the destruction of 1 centre pivot irrigator- the extent of which is currently unknown.

WASTE

Council advises green waste and metal waste will be collected by kerbside pickup, whilst debris shall either be delivered to Council's Long Swamp Road Waste Management Facility where fees are being waived at this time.

A kerbside pickup for separated green and metal waste is being arranged and will apply to the most highly affected areas. For areas where there is a high amount of debris, skip bins will be located centrally and it is requested that these be utilised for general waste debris generated by the tornado.

Please ensure that all materials are secure on the footways as they are likely to become mobile in the event that winds pick up.

The service is targeted at the areas affected by the event, and Council will issue maps shortly identifying affected areas.

If you are unable to remove debris, or reside outside the affected areas and have large amounts of debris, please contact Council’s customer service and provide your location and best contact details for Council staff to advise the most appropriate waste management solution.

Council reminds residents that asbestos is an ongoing risk, and all asbestos will be required to be handled separately in accordance with Safe Work Guidelines and can be delivered to the Council's Long Swamp Road Waste Management Facility where fees are being waived at this time.

Please note the waiving of Council fees applies to properties and debris caused by the tornado event only.

Council is continuing to assess the impact on the Armidale community as well as its assets and services. All further updates will be provided by Council ASAP.

If you or someone you know has welfare concerns, please contact Service NSW.

Published on 18 Oct 2021