Devastated towns are banding together to continue recovering from killer floods, with some properties containing “truckloads of dead animals”.
Governments have pledged financial contributions to those affected by the natural disaster in the NSW mid-north coast and Hunter regions, which have killed five people and left nearly 800 homes uninhabitable.
But volunteers, including concerned locals, are carrying the load of the day-to-day recovery as the areas count the cost of the floods.
One of those was Brett Bennell from Bennell Earthmoving, who offered free excavator and truck services in areas surrounding Coopernook, just north of Taree.
“I’ve moved two truckloads of dead animals, I’ve cleaned out three houses, stuff like that, it’s just shocking,” he told AAP.
“One bloke there didn’t want to show his young fella the dead cows piling up, it’s affecting people bad.”
Mr Bennell said houses had been “wiped out” with residents desperately clinging to hope valuable items remained usable.
“People want to save stuff, TVs and that and I have to tell them they’re not going to work,” he said.
“They’re trying to keep things but it’s a waste of time and they’ve got no money which is why they want to keep things.”
MidCoast Community Flood Response operations head Holly Rankin was helping bridge the gap between such volunteer efforts and government agency responses.
“We’ve created this out of necessity and very rapidly, but through the experience of creating it I’ve realised the paramount importance of strong disaster response frameworks,” she said.
The federal government will provide a disaster recovery payment up to $1000 for eligible adults and $400 for eligible children, on top of personal hardship payments up to $900 per family.
A disaster recovery allowance will provide up to 13 weeks’ income support and primary producers will get access to concessional loans and freight subsidies.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has acknowledged more help will be needed.
As the clean-up gets into full swing, another person was charged with looting offences on Tuesday.
They are alleged to have stolen tools, paintings, family photos, DVDs, a fish tank, lamp, tyres, and other personal items from a house in Wingham.
Detective Inspector Natalie Antaw warned the public additional police were patrolling the affected areas.
“I’d also like to remind people that taking any goods that are not yours, no matter where they are found, is an offence – even if the items have been moved from their original place by floodwaters,” she said.
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