Port Stephens Council Mayor, Leah Anderson, has expressed her gratitude to those involved in the emergency response following recent severe storms that struck the area between 15 and 17 January.
The NSW Government declared Port Stephens a natural disaster zone in the wake of the weather event, with support made available for residents, businesses, and primary producers.
“The impacts of this storm and the subsequent power outages have been felt right across our community and recovering from a disaster like this is a complex process that may take months, even years to overcome,” Mayor Anderson said.
“On behalf of all councillors and the whole community, I want to thank our wonderful staff for all their hard work over the past few days – keeping our community informed, attending community hubs and monitoring our road conditions.”
Mayor Anderson also recognised all the other agencies involved in the storm response.
“Congratulations and sincerest thanks to our incredible emergency services, especially the SES, Ausgrid and all the others supporting the response and recovery effort across Port Stephens,” she said.
“There’s a variety of excellent community services in Port Stephens that have already assisted many individuals and continue to provide support in different ways, including laundry services, housing, and food assistance.
“We’re currently working with these services to collate a list of these resources, which we’ll share with the community soon.”
She called for the community’s patience during the recovery phase.
“There’s still a lot of work to go to get back to normality, and I ask for the community’s support as we plan our recovery.”
“We’ll continue to advocate to state and federal governments for their continued support to help – it’s our job to help ensure we get the best possible outcomes for the Port Stephens community.
“Hopefully, the rain stays away for a while, so we can start to work together again to rebuild an even stronger Port Stephens.”
Disaster assistance is available for Port Stephens residents for storms and floods that occurred from 15 January. For more information, call Service NSW on 180 22 66 or visit disasterassistance.service.nsw.gov.au.
