Road Closure Information
Update 1.10pm Wednesday 24 March 2021
Safety first
Please continue to stay safe during the flood emergency. On the MidCoast there are many damaged roads – please drive to conditions, slow up and look out for damaged road surfaces.
Please stay out of flood waters wherever possible – there are many hazards including submerged objects and sharp objects. Children should never play in flood waters.
Avoid swimming in any flood-affected water - there are many possible pollutants and the water is not safe for swimming.
Our beaches are a hazardous area – as submerged objects and debris continue to wash up on beaches, sometimes many kilometres from their origin. It’s recommended you don’t swim at beaches or waterways at the present time.
Roads
If a road is closed – do not drive on it. Dangers may not be immediately apparent, but the road is closed for a reason. Please refrain from unnecessary travel.
While flood waters are receding, the state of our roads is contributing to the number of roads remaining closed. There will be some roads that will open throughout the day but will close at night due to poor visibility and safety precautions. Please be patient and follow all signage as we work through assessing and prioritising this recovery. Take extra care on damaged roads and expect to see plenty of crews out conducting temporary repairs in the worst hit areas.
The Martin Bridge at Taree is still closed and access to Taree remains via Cundletown.
The Pacific Highway has now reopened fully between Cundletown and Coopernook.
For roads updates, please go to www.myroadinfo.com.au and www.livetraffic.com.au . Emergency services are keeping these sites updated.
Stay up to date
Continue to monitor the NSW SES website Flood | NSW State Emergency Service for all updates and information on what to do before, during and after flood and storm events.
MidCoast Council’s website at www.midcoast.nsw.gov.au has all updates and follow us on Facebook also: MidCoast Council | Facebook
Evacuation Centres and Emergency Accommodation
An evacuation centre at Club Taree is currently open.
If you require accommodation assistance, please call: Emergency Accommodation: 1800 152 152 or Disaster Welfare: 1800 018 444
Recovery
We are beginning to move into the recovery phase.
Visit the flood recovery hub at www.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/floodrecovery for all assistance, advice and contacts you may need to recover from this flood event.
Visit the hub for financial assistance, advice on legal and insurance matters, help for businesses, important health information including mental health hotlines, and important clean up information.
Waste disposal
We understand the community is keen to clean up their flood waste and start to get back to some normality.
We would urge anyone who is insured to contact their insurer before they start to clean up for advice on how to best dispose of their damaged items.
Those who are insured may find disposal is part of their insurance policy.
We are currently working with a range of government agencies to deal with the clean up, and will let the community know as soon as plans are in place for support to deal with the clean up and removal of waste.
To dispose of animal carcasses and for animal welfare issues, please call the Agricultural and Animal Services Hotline on 1800 814 647.
Donations
We applaud the generosity of our community, and others from outside our region who are supporting local people devastated by this flood event. However, the NSW Government is urging people not to donate unwanted goods to communities affected by the floods. Please go to the GIVIT website to arrange all donations www.givit.org.au.
MidCoast Flood Update 6pm Tuesday 23 March 2021
Road closures will be changing from day to day.
While we know the flood waters are receding, the state of our roads is contributing to the number of roads remaining closed.
There will be some roads that will open throughout the day but will close at night due to poor visibility and safety precautions. Again, we ask that you be patient with our team and follow all signage as we work through assessing and prioritising this recovery.
Take extra care on damaged roads and expect to see plenty of Council trucks out conducting temporary repairs in the worst hit areas.
For road closure information, please head to MyRoadInfo. We have a huge network to get around and a number of organisations coordinating this task.
MidCoast Flood Update 11am Monday 22 March 2021:
It's nice to see a slight break in rain this morning, however our thoughts are with the many communities that remain isolated, and in particular those who have lost everything and/or suffered severe damage to their homes and businesses.
The floods have wreaked havoc on public infrastructure and placed pressure on the already vulnerable road network. While flood water has dropped in some areas, roads may be still closed due to their condition and for safety considerations. If a road is closed, please don't risk going through.
Our waste management facilities across the region will be open today.
Food waste from flood damaged premises can be disposed of at waste management centres free of charge, due to the public health risk.
Council services that will be operating as normal include:
- Customer Service Centres
- Garbage collection – road condition and access permitting
- Waste Management Centres (Gloucester open on Monday)
- Libraries – Tea Gardens, Stroud, Forster – normal operating hours
- While there will be changes to operations for:
- Bulky waste collection – suspended
- Burials and cemetery services – suspended
- Libraries at Gloucester, Hallidays Point, Harrington, Nabiac, Old Bar, Taree, Wingham – closed Monday 22 March
Our water network is under a lot of pressure due to the excess stormwater. We ask that everyone please keep water use low to help reduce the need to treat the dirty water in the river system and relieve some of the pressure.
The sewer network in our low lying areas is still under extreme stress with the system well and truly stretched. Our team is doing what it can to keep it going but some properties are having more issues than others. Our known problem areas are Manning Point and Harrington and we have additional resources on the ground to assist.
We love how generous our community is in times of need but we ask that everyone ensure they are donating responsibly. Together with the NSW Government we're asking people not to donate unwanted goods to communities affected by the floods. If you'd like to contribute, the official way to do so is through not for profit organisation GIVIT. To donate or learn more about GIVIT’s ‘Severe Storms and Flooding’ Appeal, visit GIVIT.org.au/severe-storms-and-flooding
The Australian Government has activated the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment
(AGDRP) and Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) to support those heavily affected by the storms
and flooding in New South Wales.
• Australian Government support payments are now activated for NSW storms and floods.
• The quickest and easiest way to claim is to call 180 22 66.
• The phone line is open now, eligible recipients can claim today.
• Check your eligibility at www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/disaster
Local Land Services are working to support livestock, there is an animal safe centre at Taree Saleyards
For reports of animals stranded, call Local Land Services on 1300 795 299.
To stay up to date with road closures, please go to My Road Info https://midnorthcoast.myroadinfo.com.au/overview.asp and be aware that localised flooding will impact on roads intermittently and can change the situation quickly.
If you require assistance call the NSW SES on 132 500.
Only travel if you absolutely need to, now is not the time to be driving around unnecessarily. Follow all signage in place, drive to conditions and remember, if it's flooded FORGET IT!
MidCoast Flood Update 5.30pm Sunday 21 March 2021