State recovery chief visits Redcliffe

Photo: Redcliffe SES Group Leader Michelle Bowker, Health Minister and State Member for Redcliffe Yvette D'Ath and Major General Jake Ellwood (supplied by Graham Davis).

State Recovery Co-ordinator Major General Jake Ellwood has visited Moreton Bay Region residents affected by flooding during the February/March emergency and spoken with SES volunteers who answered 350 calls for help when 967mm of rain lashed Redcliffe in a few days.

Major General Ellwood visited Redcliffe on June 17, accompanied by State Member for Redcliffe and Health Minister Yvette D'Ath.

After inspecting SES vehicles and viewing stores holding tarpaulins, ropes, sandbags and equipment which are held in readiness for the next natural disaster, the senior army officer moved to Grant St, Redcliffe, to view areas flooded during the emergency and to speak with residents.

He joined Ms D'Ath in thanking SES volunteers for their efforts.

Community flood forum

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management is conducting an independent review of Queensland’s response to the 2022 flood event.

Community forums will be held at locations including Deception Bay where residents can share their experience of the floods and contribute suggestions for improvements.

State Member for Bancroft Chris Whiting has welcomed the review and chance for residents to have their say.

“Some parts of Mango Hill and Deception Bay were hit hard by the recent floods and we are still feeling the impact,” Mr Whiting says.

“I’ve been encouraging owners of flooded houses to look at putting in an application under our new Resilient Homes Fund to repair, retrofit, raise or even buy back their home.

“Apart from that, we need to look at our emergency response to the flooding and I welcome the Inspector-General conducting their independent review.

“And I am really pleased the IGEM has decided to come to Deception Bay to hear people’s stories.”

The Deception Bay community forum will be at Deception Bay Community Hall from 5.30pm on Tuesday, July 5.

“I want to encourage local residents to come and give their impressions of how the emergency response was handled – how local emergency services managed it, how the evacuation centres worked, and how the community response teams did after the flood waters went down,” Mr Whiting says.

For more information and to register to attend, visit the website.