The Victorian Government has announced $351 million in funding for families, roads and clean-up efforts in Regional Victoria following the most recent deluge.
$165 million will be allocated to road maintenance including finding and fixing potholes, asphalting and repairing road surfaces.
The Government says up to $15 million will be used to provide support with housing, health and wellbeing, financial and legal counselling alongside practical assistance with accessing grants and completing paperwork, and advice for business owners whose livelihoods have been affected by the floods.
An investment of $6 million will see Community Recovery Officers stationed in affected areas to help identify the recovery needs of individuals and families, ensuring communities are getting appropriate support for their unique requirements and supporting government to identify if any further support is needed.
A further $15 million will be dedicated to boosting the capability of Emergency Management Victoria, the State Control Centre and Emergency Recovery Victoria – organisations that play a critical role in coordinating emergency responses and helping the recovery from disasters like floods.
A Victorian Flood Recovery Management Plan will deliver $150 million for an immediate state-coordinated clean up, allowing crews to move quickly into the worst-affected areas to undertake hazard assessment and demolition of any severely damaged structures.
The Victorian and Commonwealth Governments are working jointly to finalise funding arrangements under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
The Personal Hardship Assistance Program’s Emergency Re-establishment Assistance fund will support Victorian families beyond the initial payments for food and shelter whose properties have been hardest hit, providing up to $42,250 for uninsured properties, and helping to pay for clean-up, repairs, rebuilding and replacing household contents.
Since the beginning of the flood emergency, 509 roads have been closed with 150 of those now reopened.
In just a few days, hundreds of crews have undertaken more than 500 individual inspections, found and fixed 10,000 potholes and attended more than 20 landslips across Victoria.
Major Roads Projects Victoria is working closely with contractors across the Big Build’s road program including Fulton Hogan, Downer, Winslow and BuildGroup, who have offered to join in a coordinated effort with Regional Roads Victoria to repair roads.
Crews have already made significant progress on repairs on the Hume Freeway, the Western Highway, the Goulburn Valley Freeway and the Murray Valley Highway.
With more rain forecast in the coming days, the immediate focus is on making key roads usable and safe for emergency services and freight, so vital supplies can reach affected communities as quickly as possible.
