Australians have moved quickly to help their neighbours in Queensland and NSW as storms and floodwater destroyed thousands of homes and roads, waterlogged paddocks and drowned livestock.
Hundreds of NSW Rural Fire Service, State Emergency Service and Surf Life Saving volunteers worked daily in late February and early March to help evacuate thousands of people from flash floods that inundated homes and farms in the Sydney, Hunter Valley, Illawarra and South Coast districts.
After evacuations, these crews have also worked hard to resupply communities by helicopter and boat, and clear fallen trees and other debris from roads and bridges to enable access.
In that work, they have been supported by Australian Defence Force reservists and enlisted personnel.
The interstate and intrastate help comes at a time when many emergency services volunteers and personnel in NSW and Queensland are working hard in their own communities and, with their families, are also affected by flooding.
Fifteen Victorian swift water rescue specialists and support staff were deployed in late February to support Queensland, following record-breaking floods in the south-east of the state. The team included three four-person swift water rescue crews.
Their mobilisation into Queensland followed flood boat operators deployed earlier in the month to NSW from Queensland State Emergency Services, from Burdekin and Townsville crews.
Swift water rescue teams are trained to perform complex rescues, including pulling people from fast-moving water, conducting evacuations and delivering needed supplies by boat.
Victorian CFA and SES teams were also deployed to NSW.
On the back of flooding in their own state, dozens of swift water specialists and logistics personnel from South Australia’s SES were deployed to NSW throughout March.
Incident management team members from Western Australia’s emergency services flew into NSW in response to the national call for assistance.
WA emergency services personnel will also be part of a 60-strong community liaison group staffed from all Australian states, to work alongside the NSW SES.
Among the crew of people deployed from Tasmania to assist in NSW, was a flood engineer to assist in decision making in the NSW Incident Control Centre.
The ADF initially arrived in Queensland in February, with Taipan helicopters and personnel, after a request from Queensland Police for assistance.
Since then, more than 6000 enlisted and reservist ADF personnel were deployed into NSW and Queensland, with more than 3000 in northern NSW, for a range of rescue, clean up and recovery tasks.
HMAS Shepparton, HMAS Yarra and clearance diving teams worked on clearing sub-surface obstructions in the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay, including ferry terminals. This will enable safer access to water transport.
In NSW, ADF personnel were tasked to remove debris at a range of locations, including Lismore Public School and Richmond River High School. Other duties have included aerial mapping of the floods and damage, distribution of food and fodder, and welfare checks.
The National Resource Centre and NSW and Queensland’s incident control response managers continue to liaise to identify how interstate assistance can continue to help in the immediate and longer term.