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Personnel are beginning to return from flood-affected areas across NSW after completing their contributions to the relief effort.
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The Australian Defence Force’s Operation NSW Flood Assist 21-1 is wrapping up following several weeks assistance to thousands of residents and business owners in flood-affected communities in NSW.
The NSW government requested assistance from the ADF on 22 March to help in the emergency response and recovery efforts, particularly in communities on the state’s mid-north coast.
Up to 850 Army, Navy and Air Force personnel were involved in the operation, supporting recovery efforts in and around Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Nambucca, Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Taree and the Hawkesbury Nepean.
The ADF’s contribution included:
- assisting state-led aerial evacuation operations;
- removing 900 tonnes of waste from homes, properties and businesses;
- checking, clearing and reopening 170 kilometres of roads; returning several jetties and piers to workable conditions;
- transporting hundreds of litres of water and thousands of litres of fuel; and
- delivering 650 kilograms of fodder to local farmers.
“It has been an enormous privilege to be able to help out in some small way whether it’s removing debris, clearing roads to provide access, or clearing other flood and storm damage to support access to critical infrastructure or essential services,” Commander of the ADF Joint Task Group for NSW, Brigadier Mick Garraway, said.
“We’ve worked closely with Resilience NSW and other state agencies to ensure that our resources have been directed to areas most in need.
“Our mission was to set the conditions for deeper state-led recovery efforts.”
BRIG Garraway thanked the local community for its cooperation.
“I want to thank these communities for the friendship and support they’ve shown our members, particularly given the hardship and losses many of them have faced,” he said.
[Related: ADF establishes Operation NSW Flood Assist]
