ABOVE: SES volunteers, some from Victoria and WA are here to assist the Woodburn crew. In front is Richmond Valley mayor Robert Mustow, unit commander Ash Slapp, Premier Dom Perrottet and Deputy Premier Paul Toole. Photo: Susanna Freymark
Susanna Freymark
The Woodburn SES Unit is in recovery.
Like the rest of Woodburn it went underwater in the floods.
Ash Slapp is the acting unit commander and incident controller at the Woodburn SES.
“We lost all our capabilities, our trucks and our computers,” Mr Slapp said.
Four members of the unit lost their homes.
The Woodburn SES building was built well above the flood line, he said. That was until last week, when floodwaters went to heights no one had ever imagined.
Despite this, there aren’t any plans to relocate the unit’s headquarters.
There was plenty of SES help with units from Victoria and Western Australia arriving in Woodburn.
One SES member from Bathurst said that as they arrived in Woodburn, they had a callout for an emergency in Bathurst.
It shows the sacrifice these units and their communities are making by coming to our area to help in the clean-up and flood recovery.
Mr Slapp and SES volunteers met with Premier Dominic Perrottet and Deputy Premier Paul Toole yesterday, Thursday March 10.
Mr Perrottet and his team also visited small businesses in Woodburn before going to the Broadwater Community Centre to meet with flood-impacted residents.
and then