ALTHOUGH we are somewhat used to extreme weather events, our recent floods were particularly severe and swift. Over three days, Queensland and NSW experienced equivalent rainfall to what London receives in a year, with our communities across the electorate severely impacted. During our recovery, our thoughts are very much with all impacted, and I can personally relate to the exhausting cleanups being faced by many which can take months. A summary of all available assistance can be found at https://www.sandybolton.com/flood-assistance-2022/
During every disaster, there are always our many heroes who work tirelessly in multiple realms from our first responders to the volunteers and residents who sandbagged, rescued, hauled out furniture, housed and fed those impacted, whilst coordinating, communicating, and urgently repairing! To our Local Disaster Management Group team, including Noosa Council, police, fire, SES, ambulance, rural fire brigades and many others, as well local organisations and individual efforts, on behalf of our entire community, our deepest gratitude for all that you do for us and how you do it.
With pontoons from Brisbane River and elsewhere landing on our beaches, the devastation from these vessels, along with the vast volume of polystyrene pieces in our ocean, cannot be underestimated. Although Maritime Safety Queensland, local councils, community groups and residents have started the clean-up process, it may take months for missing pontoons to come ashore, hence the cleanup will need to continue. Please whenever you are heading to the beach, take a rubbish bag or grab one that Council has provided, to grab any remnants and dispose of. A huge thank you to all involved who have already contributed to this mammoth task and let this be a reminder to continue our efforts to reduce plastics and contributors to large scale environmental impacts such as microplastics.
Housing opportunities remain critically low in our region and are further impacted by those displaced by the floods, so please reach out to the Housing Service Centre in Maroochydore if you or others you know require assistance.
A reminder that the Community Benefit Fund Super Round offering grants of up to $100,000, is open until March 31, so get those applications in!
And as always following, on from our Cooroibah, North Shore and Peregian bushfires and now these floods, please be prepared by ensuring you have your disaster plan ready, with information available at www.getready.qld.gov.au! Please do not forget in your preparations to have necessities for either emergency evacuations or being isolated for up to five days including medications, as again during these last weeks this proved to be an overriding problem for residents and our first responders.
To keep updated on the latest, head to Noosa 360 at www.sandybolton.com, subscribe to our monthly newsletter and join us on Facebook. As always, do not hesitate to contact our office via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au or 5319 3100.