Disaster assistance has been extended to the Carpentaria and Kowanyama Local Government Areas following flooding caused from a weather pattern over the New Year period that later formed into Tropical Cyclone Seth.
Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Federal Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience, Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie said the DFRA assistance will help those two councils with their clean-up and reconstruction efforts.
“A low-pressure system dumped significant rainfall in the Far North region before it was upgraded to Tropical Cyclone Seth which, as we know, moved south and caused significant damage across the Wide Bay region,” Minister McKenzie said.
“From this weather event, Kowanyama received its sixth highest rainfall on record, with floods damaging the roads, while Carpentaria also received damage in parts of the region.
“This DRFA assistance will help Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council and Carpentaria Shire Council with eligible costs associated with clean-up operations and the restoration of essential public assets.
“The Australian and Queensland Governments will continue to work with all communities hit by this event to ensure they receive the support they need to get back on their feet as soon as possible,” Minister McKenzie said.
Queensland Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Mark Ryan said Kowanyama and Carpentaria would have access to DRFA to help their road to recovery from this significant flooding event.
“Given the size and scale of flooding, in Kowanyama in particular, it has taken some time to get a full understanding of the damage caused by these floods.
“The road networks in both council areas have been hit and there was also damage to the tarmac on the runway of Kowanyama’s airport.
“Unfortunately, Kowanyama and Carpentaria are two of the councils most frequently hit by natural disasters in Queensland so they know how helpful this DRFA assistance will be in covering the costs of cleaning up as well as rebuilding essential public infrastructure.
“We will continue to work with communities affected by this event to provide support and assistance required until their recovery is complete,” he said.
A range of DRFA assistance is now available in nine local government areas in response to the Ex Tropical Cyclone Seth floods: Bundaberg, Carpentaria, Cherbourg, Gold Coast, Fraser Coast, Gympie, Kowanyama, North Burnett and South Burnett.
Information on disaster assistance can be found on the Australian Government’s website at www.disasterassist.gov.au and the Queensland Reconstruction Authority’s website at www.qra.qld.gov.au
