ALBURY SES crews were doing their bit yesterday to deal with the enormous storm damage in the Sydney-Newcastle region.
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They set off for the storm area early on Tuesday after a callout from state headquarters.
A punishing east-coast low dumped up to 230mm of rain on Sydney from 9am to noon yesterday. The rain was just as heavy in the Hunter Valley. High wind also caused havoc.
SES Murray Region business manager Elizabeth Kirkwood said the call for assistance was to help in Sydney’s north.
“We’ve rallied the troops,” she said.
“We’ve got two teams of four Albury people.
“There’s a fellow from Tocumwal as well.”
Mrs Kirkwood said community engagement co-ordinator for the region Ian Leckie drove to the Hunter Valley on Tuesday night to help efforts to control flooding.
“One team has been sent to Wyong on the Central Coast — they’ll be doing tree jobs in that area, as well as dealing with flooding,” she said.
“The other team has gone to Warringah-Pittwater for storm and flood tasks there.”
Mrs Kirkwood said the initial deployment would be for three to four days.
“That will be reviewed as things go on,” she said.
Mrs Kirkwood said that so far there had not been any further requests for help.
“Not yet, but they’ve got a mighty workload there with them now over the 8000-mark for jobs,” she said.
“That’s even with the assistance of all the other emergency services.
“You’ve got three very large regions affected.”
Mrs Kirkwood said the two Albury crews were sent north in their own vehicles, with trailers, “because they need to be self-sufficient”.
“If we flew them, it would have been too difficult at the other end with having to borrow resources,” she said.
“Driving up there also meant they were immediately deployable after they had a sufficient rest break.”