MAYORAL MINUTE NO 2/2021
THANK YOU TO OUR SES VOLUNTEERS AND EMERGENCY SERVICES HEROES WHO ARE GIVING THEIR ALL DURING THIS SEVERE WEATHER EVENT
23 MARCH 2021
Councillors,Parts of our Shire have been engulfed by floods and other regions across NSW have been transformed into an inland sea as a result of a catastrophic weather system which continues to lash our state.
At the time of writing this Mayoral Minute, the Hawkesbury River continues to rise and our communities of Wisemans Ferry and Lower Portland brace for the impact of rising flood waters. It’s been a scary and stressful time for some of our residents who’ve had to act quickly to save their family, prized personal possessions, and their pets and livestock.
These devastating floods are also impacting businesses – some have only just begun to bounce back and recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the bushfires of 2019/20. It’s incredibly heartbreaking to hear these stories of survival and tribulation, time-after-time.
Despite this, we are also seeing heroic acts carried out by our SES volunteers, emergency services and those generous people wanting to do their bit to help others. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Hills SES volunteers and our emergency services who are working around the clock to assist those who have been caught in floods. So far, our SES teams have been called out to 113 emergencies and have been tasked with managing the east sector of the Colo River evacuation. Our SES team has already logged more than 500 hours of work in as little as three days and this includes rescues, as well as operations, logistics, planning and welfare support. It should also be noted that volunteers also work to cater food, order sand for sandbags, maintain vehicles and pay suppliers – and that’s to help keep our flood and field teams active and operational.
I also want to thank Council staff, who have also been responding to call outs and working alongside our emergency services, providing support where they can.
I’m also proud that Council could offer Castle Hill Showground to assist those needing a dry place to keep their animals safe. On Monday, I visited the Showground and met many wonderful people who were in high spirits despite being impacted by floods, as well as the 30 horses, 20 goats and a handful of dogs onsite. All the people who had evacuated to the Showground were all concerned about their animals’ welfare and keeping them dry. In particular, Coco Miles from Pitt Town, had been up for 48 hours straight while moving 26 horses. Of those, 11 had been transported to the Showground and the others had been moved to higher ground.
I was also really impressed with the Mobile Vet Service, which is located at the Showground. Thanks to David Hope, Chair of the Animal Welfare League NSW and his team for the incredible work they do ensuring the pets of people who have had to be evacuated are safe and well. The Mobile Vet Service is a fully-fitted out B-double trailer, with both housing and hospital facilities for animals. It has also been designed to cope with natural disasters as well as enabling them to travel to regional areas in NSW and, I thank David and his team for the personal tour.
I also took the time to visit our emergency evacuation centre at Castle Hill RSL. The RSL has been fantastic in welcoming people from all parts of Greater Western Sydney who were seeking refuge from the floods. On Sunday evening, the RSL catered for up to 40 people, mostly from Penrith, Mulgoa and Jamisontown. Evacuation orders are now in place for parts of Blacktown, Berowra and the Hawkesbury, and Castle Hill RSL will be accepting residents from these areas. A big thank you to the Castle Hill RSL and other volunteers including the Red Cross, St John Ambulance, Anglicare, NSW Health and Police who are supporting the evacuation centre and ensuring people have everything they need including food and a dry place to stay.
Once the rain stops and the water subsides, there will be a massive combined effort to clean-up and rebuild our region that has been affected by this mega flood. However, until that happens, please listen to warnings and refrain from entering flood waters. They can rise very quickly and can be very dangerous.
The wet weather is causing big problems on our roads and drivers need to be cautious. It is causing damage to our roads, including the development of pot holes. Council staff and our contractors are working tirelessly to attend to our road network.
I also want to encourage our generous community to help through the approved channels. The State Government has teamed up with GIVIT to assist with managing donated money, as well as goods and services. A list of requested donations can be found on the GIVIT website.
I’m urging residents to keep up-to-date on the latest flood advice and weather warnings by follow the Hills SES on their Facebook page or via the SES NSW website; or in an emergency to call the police on triple zero (000); and keep informed about road closures, by visiting Live Traffic.
This disaster is not over yet, and we will all be called upon to do more to help others as the days and weeks unfold.
MOTION:
Accordingly, I move that this Mayoral Minute be received.
