Disaster recovery assistance is
now available to communities in Western Australia's Pilbara, Midwest and Goldfields
regions affected by heavy rainfall and flooding earlier this year.
From
21 to 27 January, a tropical low brought heavy rainfall which caused flooding
across the seven local governments, disrupted
communities, damaged essential public assets, and resulted in road closures.
The
assistance is being provided by the Albanese and Cook Governments through the jointly
funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA),
ensuring the Shires of East Pilbara, Laverton, Leonora, Meekatharra, Menzies,
Sandstone and Wiluna are supported in their recovery journey.
Shires
will be supported to undertake emergency recovery and immediate repair works to
bring essential public assets like bridges and roads back to a usable
condition.
Federal
Minister for Emergency Management, Murray Watt, said the measures provided will
help communities to bounce back.
"Severe weather events can put a lot of
pressure on communities, so this financial support will help shires so they can
continue with important recovery work," Minister Watt said.
"Both levels of Government are committed
to helping the region recover, and we'll continue to work with the WA
Government to understand the ongoing needs of the Pilbara, Midwest and
Goldfields."
Western Australian Emergency Services
Minister, the Hon Stephen Dawson MLC, thanked all the agencies, local
governments and community members who were involved in the response and worked
tirelessly to keep impacted communities safe.
"I would like to commend all
those involved - from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services who
coordinated the multi-agency response, to the SES volunteers who assisted
impacted community members, to the personnel from Main Roads WA and the WA
Police Force who worked with local governments to manage road closures and
re-openings across the impacted regions," he said.
"This joint support from the
Australian and Western Australian Governments will help shires which have
experienced damage to local roads and other essential public assets with the
costs of clean-up and repairs from the floods.
"We understand how vital road
networks are to regional communities and the local economy. Activating the
Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements is about helping regional communities
get back on their feet."
Information on disaster assistance is available on the Australian Government's
Disaster Assist website at disasterassist.gov.au.
