Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner, Darren Klemm says clean-up operations are under way across 13 Local Government areas affected by Cyclone Seroja, with damage recorded from the Shire of Northampton east through to the Shire of Merredin.
“The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has so far identified 1,050 buildings across the region with some degree of damage and 49 destroyed,” Commissioner Klemm said.
“More than 400 Emergency Services and support personnel, including volunteers from across Western Australia, as well as from NSW, Victoria and South Australia, are on the ground across the region helping with the recovery efforts.”
He said the Local Government areas of Carnamah, Chapman Valley, Coorow, Dalwallinu, Dandaragan, Greater Geraldton, Mingenew, Morawa, Mount Marshall, Northampton, Perenjori, Shark Bay and Three Springs were all eligible to receive financial assistance.
Minister for Emergency Services, Reece Whitby said each and every community should know the Government, Emergency Services personnel and volunteers were right behind them.
“We have a long road ahead in terms of recovery, but already we have agreed on vital Federal-State disaster funding, restored many services and provided immediate crisis support,” Mr Whitby said.
He said electricity and water financial relief packages were now available.
These included the doubling of Western Power’s Extended Outage Payment from $80 to $160; waiving fees related to network connections and reconnections for people whose properties were destroyed and reconnecting electricity for existing customers and replacing damaged meters free-of-charge.
