Bushfires and now a flood.
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The Macleay Valley Recovery Hub, a single location centre for disaster assistance, has been at the forefront of the recovery in the Kempsey Shire over the past nine months.
The Recovery Hub was officially opened in July last year and aided in assisting locals impacted by the 2019 bushfires.
Over the past few weeks the hub has once again become a support for locals who have been impacted by the recent flood.
Council's recovery coordinator, Jo McGoldrick, said the hub has been very busy over the past few weeks.
"During the first two weeks following the flood we had quite a lot of people coming into the hub for assistance," she said.
"We've had people who have come in who were impacted by the fires and are now seeking assistance due to the flood. Especially people from the up river communities of Wittitrin and Toorumbee and the down river areas like Maria River."
Jo said many people are facing livestock loss and damaged fencing caused by flood water.
"There's also a lot of damage on private properties that we are dealing with," she said.
Jo was also the recovery coordinator during the 2019 bushfires and said the flood has had a devastating impact on locals across the Macleay.
"The needs are different for the recovery this time, but it's like a double blow and has been extremely tough for people who were impacted by both the fires and now the flood.
"We're still seeing people coming into the hub who are seeking assistance."
Kempsey Shire Council has also started outreach visits to communities impacted by the floods.
"We visited Stuarts Point and Kundabung on Friday and have also visited Bellbrook and Willawarrin this week," Jo said.
There will be outreach visits to Belmore River and Crescent Head on Thursday April 15 and Wittitrin and Dondingalong on Friday April 16. Times and locations can be found here.
Council's Recovery Team is working in partnership with the emergency services, State and Federal government agencies, charities and others to deliver assistance including:
- Flood Recovery
- Relief for farmers affected by floods
- Bushfire and Drought Recovery
- COVID-19 support
The Macleay Valley Recovery Hub is located at 57 Elbow St in West Kempsey and is open weekdays from 8.30am to 4.30pm. The Hub brings together teams from:
- Kempsey Shire Council
- Resilience NSW
- Services NSW
- NSW Health
- The Department of Primary Industries
- And various charities
Locals can also call the Hub on 6566 3200 during office hours.
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