DHHS staff go north to help QLD flood recovery

Over the next 4 weeks, 120 DHHS staff will be sent to Queensland to answer a call from parts of the country ravaged by once-in-a-century floods which forced thousands from their homes.

Today 28 Department of Health and Human Services personnel will leave Victoria, the first of four seven-day rotations planned with workers sent to Townsville and other locations across Queensland. In total, over the next four weeks, 120 DHHS staff will be sent.

In Townsville thousands of homes were inundated by floodwater, with many more substantially damaged. Fourteen local government areas have been identified as needing help.

An estimated half a million livestock have been lost as well as countless wildlife, with the impacts of the floods expected to be felt for months to come.

This interstate deployment of recovery personnel is the second for Victoria in Queensland.

For recovery information for the Queensland Cyclone and Floods, visit qld.gov.au.

The Better Health Channel has advice and information about floods including what to do during and after a flood.

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