WOLLONGONG Council crews are back to work today clearing roads, footpaths and culverts, as well as helping residents remove debris where possible.

The all-hands-on-deck clean-up is in response to severe flash flooding on Saturday 6 April that saw many parts of the city covered in water, mud and debris.

The severity of the flash flooding has led to extensive damage across the city, leading to many requests for Council’s help. In response, Council said it is prioritising the worst impacted areas first.

In addition to partial road closures on Lawrence Hargrave Drive between Helensburgh and Thirroul, (See Live Traffic NSW), road closures (as of midday Sunday April 7 2024) are in place at:

• Darkes Rd, Kembla Grange
• Mt Keira Rd, Harry Graham Drive – top end near Clive Bissell Dr and at lower end near Rural Fire Station
• Lachlan Ave, Thirroul
• Kelton Lane, Thirroul
• Vera St, Helensburgh
• Otford Weir.

Federal and State Governments have today announced flooding recovery support for City of Wollongong residents. Disaster assistance will be available for flood-impacted residents to assist in the recovery and clean-up.

The NSW Government has also lifted the waste levy fee for residents disposing of flood damaged waste, to help communities clean up. This change will come into effect on Monday 8 April 2024.

Council is also providing additional, free on-call household cleanups. These can be booked from Monday 8 April by calling Remondis directly on 1300 362 360.

Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said that the first message to the community was to stay safe by keeping away from creeks and waterways.

“We understand how stressful this situation is for our community and the hard work going into the cleanup. Council crews have been out in the community cleaning and repairing what we can, and we’ve seen first-hand the extent of damage across the city,” Cr Bradbery said.

“To help support our community, additional, free on-call household cleanups for impacted residents are available. While you can book a cleanup online through the website, it’s better to wait until Remondis opens on Monday to call and book an urgent cleanup as impacted residents will be prioritised.

“In the meantime, Council continues to assess the situation on the ground so that we can fully understand the impact of this severe weather event.”

What can be disposed of with an on-call household cleanup?

This is for household items damaged by floods. Building waste is not part of this household clean-up service

What about garden debris?

Wollongong residents can also drop off extra garden debris for free at the waste depot at Whytes Gully, Kembla Grange on Sunday 7 April and Monday 8 April.

Council is investigating other opportunities for garden debris drop-offs to support residents with green waste and garden debris from the floods and will share more information as soon as possible.

Federal and NSW Government support

The Federal and NSW Government have responded to the situation and are providing the City of Wollongong with recovery support for the flood affected community.

This includes support such as:

• Assistance for eligible residents to help meet immediate needs like emergency accommodation or small cash payments to purchase essential items generally provided from evacuation or recovery centres.
• Grants for eligible residents to replace lost essential household items to maintain basic standard of living.
• Grants for eligible residents to undertake essential structural repairs to restore their homes to a safe and habitable conditions.
• Waiving the waste levy fee for residents disposing of flood damaged waste in the Illawarra South Coast region, to help communities clean up. This change will come into effect on Monday 8 April 2024.

For information relating to financial assistance, replacing lost documents, location of your nearest recovery centre and more, contact Service NSW on 13 77 88 or visit www.nsw.gov.au.

Wollongong City Council General Manager Greg Doyle thanked the Federal and NSW Government for their support and said that the past day has been exceptionally challenging for the local community, emergency services and Council staff.

“Yesterday, I spent the day travelling the city, inspecting impacted sites, and meeting with many residents to hear their personal stories and feedback. I’ve also spoke with our staff on the ground, cleaning up our city,” Mr Doyle said.

“I want to thank emergency services, Council staff and our community for responding to the situation quickly. Many of our suburbs and streets across the city have been significantly impacted by this weather event and the extent of damage is substantial. It’s going to take some time to get things back to normal.”

Be mindful of asbestos

If your house was built before 1990, there’s a good chance it contains asbestos. While asbestos materials are less of a risk when wet, they’re still a risk. If you find asbestos debris on your property, and a licenced removalist is not an option, check the NSW EPA website for more details on how to safely dispose of the material.

Beaches

All 17 patrolled beaches remain closed due to water quality and debris. Council Lifeguards will continue to monitor the situation and will reopen the beaches when it is safe to do so. Council encourages people to stay off the beaches, or use a high degree of caution, due to potential safety impacts of rubbish and debris.

Pools

Some of our pools have been closed due to water contamination caused by wet weather. Check Council’s pools webpage for updates on closures.

Sportsgrounds

All Council sportsgrounds remain closed. Council will continue to monitor the conditions and reopen as soon as possible. Check Council’s Sportsgrounds webpage for regular updates.

If you have a safety issue, contact NSW SES on 132 500 or 000. You can also contact Council’s After-Hours phone on 4227 7111. Council advises it is experiencing a high volume of calls and there is a wait time.

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