The Daily Examiner
online, 13 March 2021:
The
words on the wooden sign have become a symbol of what the Tucabia
couple say they’ve repeatedly faced with their insurer in an
attempt to save the two-storey house they’ve owned for 30 years.
They’re
one of many flood-hit families that have filled the nearby town of
Grafton, with insurance delays causing them to keep extending their
temporary accommodation.
All
but one hotel in Grafton was running at capacity on Friday – with
owners largely attributing that to an influx of emergency service
workers and newly homeless flood victims from throughout the region.
The
clean and tidy Quality Inn Grafton is a far cry from the horrid
stench of Suzanne and David Larkin’s water-edge house some 20
minutes away, which was flooded in water half way up its second
floor.
“It’s
devastating, there’s no other way to put it,” Ms Larkin said.
“Everything
is ruined.”
She
said her free-range chickens were cramped in a tiny cage and her
rescue dogs were traumatised.
“All
that’s sentimental is gone,” she said.
She
said most days she had spent hours on hold to her insurance company,
AAMI, only to have to explain her situation to a new person each
time.
That
person kept pushing back the house assessment date, pushing the
chances of her home being demolished higher each time.
She
said AAMI had agreed to cover their temporary accommodation cost
until March 30, but the couple expected they’d live in Grafton up
to two more months.
“The
government says it’ll give us a rental grant, but have you seen the
market around here,” Ms Larkin said.
“Where
are the houses?”
It
appears they’re not alone.
Quality
Inn Grafton owner Janelle Boekman said the majority of her rooms were
full of homeless families from nearby towns seeking refuge, and a
large portion of them complained of similar delays with insurance
companies.
“It
seems the companies are prioritising other areas and it’s got a lot
of people upset, which is really hard to see,” Ms Boekman said.
Abbey
Motor Inn Grafton manager Grant Cornish said he had been turning
dozens of people away who were looking for temporary accommodation
while waiting on insurers.
“This
town is chockers – it could do with a few more hotels at the
moment,” he said.
Although
frustrating insurance delays were disrupting many lives, insurance
expert from Compare the Market Steven Zeller said there was no simple
solution.
“Insurers
have been inundated with well above 80,000 claims across NSW and
Queensland and it’s putting absolute pressure on them,” he said.
“They’re
trying to get additional staff to help with the shortage and get
assessors out, but they might be isolating due to Covid, there could
be difficulty getting out to these areas, there are many reasons.”
Mr
Zeller said there was a double whammy of a serious supply shortage
that posed challenges for insurers trying to access building
materials and tradesman.
“So
even when an assessor gets out, you’re likely to experience a delay
for several more months to have your property fixed,” he said.
“We’re
all in a waiting game here.”
In
terms of salvaging homes before it’s too late, Mr Zeller said
people could take off damaged carpets and furniture to ease some
dampness but could not go “knocking down walls” until the place
was assessed.
Suncorp
Group, which own AAMI insurance, said it has increased staff to help
with the flood response in NSW and Queensland, where it had received
more than 32,000 claims.
The
most claims came from Lismore, Chinderah and Murwillumbah in NSW and
Deagon, Aspley and Everton Park in Queensland.
Suncorp
Group CEO Steve Johnston said it had created a new dedicated flood
response and recovery team that relied on aerial imagery, real-time
data and on the ground insights to direct the right support.
“We
recognise the scale of this flooding emergency, and the devastating
impact it has had on so many people and communities, many of whom are
facing a long road to recovery,” Mr Johnston said.....
NSW
flood emergency response scrutinised
AAP General News Wire,
13 March 2022:
NSW
Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke says all aspects of the
emergency services response to the flood crisis will be examined in
an independent review.
An
independent review of the NSW government's response to the state's
flood crisis will determine what mistakes were made and what can be
improved, the emergency services minister says.
"I
think we can always do better next time," Step Cooke told Sydney
radio 2GB on Monday.
There
are now 8000 Australian Defence Force personnel in NSW ensuring
supplies reach communities that are still cut off by floodwaters, as
well as helping with the massive clean-up operation.
However,
there has been criticism of how long it took to deploy troops to help
with the crisis and questions are being asked about who is to blame.
SES
commissioner Carlene York has also faced questions about why civilian
rescue helicopters were left grounded across the state as floodwaters
inundated the Northern Rivers.
Ms
Cooke says all aspects of the emergency services response will be
examined, adding it's a complex issue.
The
review will determine why it took so long to get troops on the ground
in the Northern Rivers to help thousands of people whose homes were
inundated with flood waters.
"The
deployment of ADF troops is something that will be considered as part
of that review," Ms Cooke said.
"If
there are ways that we need to do things differently in the future to
ensure that our communities have the maximum amount of notice to
prepare and our response is timely and is where it is needed, when it
is needed, then that is something that will benefit communities right
across NSW."
Ms
York says worse than forecast weather explained why civilian rescue
helicopters were not called to help with the crisis.
Emergency
crews were only expecting minor to moderate flooding in the region;
less than had inundated the north coast last year.
"We
resourced appropriately on those levels," Ms York said on
Sunday.
Instead
towns were hit with record floods, including in Lismore where waters
were two metres above any event recorded.
Helicopters
were meanwhile deployed to areas like Cooma, near the Snowy
Mountains, to be on standby for floods that never arrived.
Ms
York said the worst of the floods in the Northern Rivers had hit at
night when rescue crews were restricted in what they could do.
Meanwhile,
the SES has determined 3396 homes are uninhabitable and 6708 were
inundated as 120 motor homes were last week on their way to the
Northern Rivers to deal with a drastic shortage of accommodation as
part of a $551 million housing support package…...
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