There have been three floods this year in the South Burnett but only victims of the first – the Australia Day weekend floods – are eligible so far for disaster relief.
“At this stage the Federal Government has not extended the Australia Day weekend flood event beyond January 29, which effects eligibility for funding,” Cr Cheryl Dalton said.
The South Burnett Disaster Management Team has officially categorised the 2013 floods into three separate events.
These are
- Flood Event 1 – January 26
- Flood Event 2 – February 25
- Flood Event 3 – March 2
“Our region has been hit by three flood events over the last two months and we are keen to gather data from businesses, farmers, home owners and community organisations who have been effected by any of the flood events,” Cr Dalton said.
If you have suffered damage as a direct result of the floods after January 29, please contact Council on (07) 4189-9100 with your address, type of facility (farm/home/business/organisation), type of damage (fences/furniture/equipment/crops), approximate cost of repair and amount of future income loss (if applicable).
NB: In early February the Council put out a public call for photos of flood damage to local farms in order to prove to the Federal Government the South Burnett had been badly impacted by the Australia Day floods.
The call resulted in more than 700 photos being sent to the Council.
This enabled the area to be upgraded from Category B to Category C – and then Category D – under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.
- Related article: Councils Needs Photos Of Farm Damage
