Two flood recovery drop-in sessions organised for Meander Valley residents needing assistance

Council is hosting two recovery drop-in sessions over the next week to assist the community in the aftermath of the floods.

The first session will be held tomorrow from 10am – 4pm at the Deloraine Community Complex on Alveston Drive. The second will be held next Wednesday, 26 October from 10am – 4pm at the Mole Creek hall.

Mayor Wayne Johnston said the sessions would help the community in the recovery process by connecting residents with key service providers.

“We will have a number of service providers there ready to speak with members of the community about emergency flood relief payments, emotional support and counselling as well as a range of other practical services such as hard waste disposal and access to volunteers to help with the clean up,” Mayor Johnston said.

“It may simply just be an opportunity for residents to come together over a cuppa, take stock of the situation and speak to someone about how the floods have impacted on them.”

Council has praised the community for coming together and supporting each other in this time of need.

“Throughout the flood event we have seen incredible community resilience. People have really pulled together and provided support, particularly for the operation of our evacuation centre with a number of local organisations stepping up to give us a hand, providing essential supplies like food, bedding and clothing,” Mayor Johnston said.

“As we move into the recovery phase, we are again seeing amazing demonstrations of community support. Over the weekend we had a number of community members pitching in to assist Council’s works crews with the start of the clean-up along the Deloraine riverbank and everyone is really pulling together.”

Council is now focused on community safety and accessibility and assessing the damage to roads and bridges. The priorities are to ensure those properties that have been isolated by damage to infrastructure have alternative access arrangements in place as soon as possible.

Repair work will commence over the course of this week, however in many instances this will be temporary remediation and further follow-up work will be required.

Areas of focus include Wet Caves Road, Den Road, Montana Road, Kellys Cage Road, Dynans Bridge Road, Westwood and Selbourne Roads and various other sites that require asphalt and road shoulder repairs.

“Our crews are working hard to complete this repair work alongside the provision of other important services such as rubbish collection, cleaning and maintenance of our recreational areas, so we really appreciate everyone’s patience during this recovery and we thank you for the support you have already provided us and for working with us,” Mayor Johnston said.