The NSW Government has announced the appointment of two Recovery Coordinators who will be tasked with managing flood clean-up and rebuilding efforts across Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions.
Dean Betts and Mel Gore were appointed to the roles today by Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery, Steph Cooke.
The Minister said Mr Betts will oversee efforts in Greater Sydney, while Ms Gore will oversee the Central Coast, Hunter and Mid North Coast.
“These appointments will help to ensure that flood-affected communities receive support in a timely and efficient way,” Ms Cooke said.
Ms Cooke said as the flood waters continue to recede, more than 1,000 personnel from a range of Government agencies were ready to assist with the immediate clean-up effort.
“Our first priorities are to undertake rapid damage assessments of flooded homes and businesses, begin the mammoth task of cleaning up and ensure residents displaced by the flooding can access emergency accommodation,” Ms Cooke said.
“Our clean-up task force has already assessed 2,285 homes and businesses for flood-related damage, with 239 deemed as not habitable and a further 973 requiring repairs.”
Recovery Centres, which provide face-to-face access to a range of Government services, support and advice, will be opened in the coming days across Greater Sydney, the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley and the Central Coast.
There are now 37 LGAs across NSW subject to a natural disaster declaration resulting from the severe weather and flooding.
To date, the NSW SES Commissioner has signed ‘transition to recovery’ handover orders for the local government areas (LGAs) of Camden, Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield, Liverpool, Penrith and Sutherland.
Flood recovery efforts in the Northern Rivers remain a priority of the NSW Government and are being overseen by the Northern NSW Recovery Coordinator, Deputy Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon.