Scott Morrison, Australia’s Prime Minister, said that he would recommend declaring a national emergency following the recent flooding of large parts east coast. The deaths of 22 people was caused by the floods. Morrison made the announcement while visiting Lismore in New South Wales, where flooding claimed four lives last week.
Morrison made a statement that he intended to recommend to Governor-General that a National Emergency Declaration be issued covering this severe weather event and flooding in Queensland and New South Wales. This will ensure all our emergency powers and that we cut through any red paper we might encounter in delivering support and services on the ground.
What does the “state of emergency” mean?
A new law was passed in late 2020 to make the declaration possible following the devastating Australian bushfires of the previous Southern Hemisphere Summer. Some of the affected communities were fighting wildfires two year ago.
Flood victims will no longer need to provide identification documents in order to receive support payments under the new status. The federal government will be allowed to act in certain areas that state governments have not asked for help.
Natural disasters can make life difficult in Australia
While touring the worst-hit areas of New South Wales, Morrison said on Wednesday, “Australia is becoming a harder country to live in because of these natural disasters.”
Floodwaters reached their peak in Queenslands capital, Brisbane, Australia’s third-most populous city, on February 28 after it was inundated by 80% of its usual annual rainfall in the previous three days.
In southeast Queensland alone, more than 20,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by flood waters. 13 people also died.
Lauraine Ormond, flood victim photographed outside her house in Goodna, Queensland
Parts of New South Wales’ capital, Sydney, Australias most populous city, were flooded after receiving almost 75% of its average annual rainfall since January 1, enduring the wettest start to a year ever recorded. Some communities experienced the worst floods in their history.
Morrison called the flooding a “major catastrophe…of national proportions.”
In the past week, the government has paid out around AU$385 million (253 million, $281 million) to flood victims nationally with plans to increase aid in Lismore, one of the hardest-hit towns, to provide food and shelter and other support services.
Frustrated residents
Many flood victims are upset that authorities didn’t respond sooner and that relief efforts weren’t enough. Murray Watt, an emergency management spokesperson, stated that if it weren’t for community members, “we’d have been seeing a death count in the hundreds of persons.”
“While people are grateful for the assistance they’ve had from the army, there’s just nowhere near enough of it,” Watt added.
Although the rains have now subsided, New South Wales has ordered that 40,000 people evacuate their homes, with many of them in Sydney.
New South Wales’ death total rose to nine Wednesday as police found the body in floodwater at Sydney’s outskirts.
In Cabarita (New South Wales), the floods blocked roads
Michael Regan, the Mayor of Northern Beaches, stated that some areas in Sydney were hit by flash floods and multiple land slips on Tuesday. On Wednesday, debris was still blocking many roads.
“Yesterday was strange. It was intense. It was Biblical,” Regan said to Nine Network television.
‘The water is rising, no more compromising’
Morrison, who is lagging in polls ahead of an election before May, kept media away from his meetings with flood victims, which he said was to protect their privacy.
Meanwhile, television footage showed some people gathered in front of an emergency operations center Morrison visited, yelling, “The water is rising, no more compromising” and “fossil fuel floods.”
The conservative government of the Prime Minister adopted a net zero carbon emission target for 2050. However, climate activists demand more aggressive action.
fh/sms (AFP, Reuters)
