More than 90 staff from the Department of Health and Human Services have assisted Townsville and other impacted north Queensland regions over the past month, following the unprecedented rainfall that caused devastating flooding and millions of dollars of damage to property and livestock.
Four teams conducted week long deployments, filling a variety of roles including outreach and working from relief hubs directly supporting impacted community members and assessing their support needs.
Julian Troth, Emergency Management Manager, North Division said he was proud to be part of the team assisting in the recovery efforts.
“Our Queensland colleagues have been working extremely well in very difficult circumstances.
Recovering from floods can take a long time; and a lot of people and resources.
Our staff are well-trained and a highly skilled relief and recovery workforce, and we’re always ready to lend a hand.”
Although the impacts of the floods will be felt for months and years to come, the assistance provided by Victoria has helped to ensure vital support has been provided to community members in need.
So far, more than 55,000 financial support grants, totalling more than $22 million, have been made to those experiencing significant hardship due to the floods.
This interstate deployment of recovery personnel was the second for Victoria and Queensland, and was conducted under the Guidelines for Interstate Assistance (Community Recovery) 2015.
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