Disaster assistance has been made available in 37 local government areas (LGAs) in NSW impacted by severe storms and flooding earlier this month.
Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) and will include $80 million to help with the clean-up and removal of flood and storm-related damage, debris, and green waste.
As well, each of the 37 impacted councils will receive $1 million grants to assist with their immediate recovery costs.
The LGAs are Bayside, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Canterbury Bankstown, Campbelltown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Cumberland, Dungog, Fairfield, Georges River, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Kiama, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Lithgow, Liverpool, Mid Cost, Muswellbrook, Nambucca, Newcastle, Northern Beaches, Penrith, Port Stephens, Randwock, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Singleton, Sutherland, The Hills, Upper Lachlan, Warren, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong.
Almost 528,000 people affected by the severe storms and flooding have already received more than $436 million in disaster assistance.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said the flooding had led to several evacuations throughout Metropolitan Sydney, the Hawkesbury, and the Central Coast.
“We have seen some of these impacted communities being hit by floods for a third and fourth time in 18 months, which is extremely distressing to the residents of these communities,” Minister Watt said.
In other DRFA news, communities in the Mid-West and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia affected by flooding earlier this year can now access disaster recovery funding.
A low-pressure system moved through Western Australia on 26 March, bringing a week of significant rainfall to the local government areas of Murchison, Upper Gascoyne, Carnarvon, and Yalgoo.
Senator Watt said the assistance provided through the jointly funded DRFA will ensure local government, primary producers, and small businesses are supported in their recovery journey.