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6 December, 2021

Storm season on everyone’s minds

In the wake of a wet November and the declaration of a La Niña event, the Clifton Local Emergency Co-ordination Sub-Group (LECS) meeting last Thursday was timely.


The meeting’s attendees, from left: Tony Fenner (SES), Roger Moulton (CDPA), Jenna Buckley (TRC), Matt Brown (TRC), Brad Jones (CCHS), Sean Lynham (QPS), Peter McKenzie (QFES), Lou Oberholzer (CSHS), Chris Fulton (obscured) (QAS), Sarah Rossiter (TRC), Tyson Morris (QPS) and Hemmo de Vries (QFES).

The meeting, held at Clifton Fire Station, saw representatives from a number of organisations attend.

They were Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC), local representatives of Queensland Police Service (QPS), Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES), Clifton State High School, Clifton and District Progress Association (CDPA), State Emergency Service (SES), Clifton Community Health Services (CCHS) and The Clifton Courier.

Topics discussed centred on how Clifton could better deal with an emergency situation including securing funding to erect an LED sign to replace the manual one at Clifton Aquatic Centre and installing a flood camera at some spots overlooking creeks and rivers.

Many of these exist in the northern part of the region.

As the existing chair Anne Glasheen has stepped down from the role, it was discussed who the next chair might be.

Peter McKenzie was suggested as the new chair although he remains undecided if he will accept.

LOCAL ROADS

In the wake of an increased number of road hazards as a result of ongoing rainfall and some roads being closed due to water over the road in other parts of the region, TRC Infrastructure Committee Chair Cr Carol Taylor said motorists should drive to the conditions and adhere to traffic signage.

“We’re asking people to be alert to changing road conditions, slow down and to observe temporary roadside warning signage which may be in place to indicate where roads are damaged,” Cr Taylor said.

“There is a lot of water in some areas, water may be ponding on floodways and our roads are slippery and possibly boggy in some areas.

“There is an increased number of potholes on our roads and there may be washouts in some locations.  

“Impacted roads should be avoided where possible and of course if it’s flooded, forget it.”

Cr Taylor said Council crews were responding to an increased number of road defects and urged the community to be patient.

“We are aware the condition of our roads has been impacted by the weather over the last few weeks, and we’re doing our best to try and make them safe again, first and foremost,” she said.

“The increased workload is expected to be ongoing over the next few weeks with more rain forecast in the coming days. 

“We’re asking the community to be patient while damage is assessed and repairs prioritised.

“Repairs to the road network take time to complete and we thank motorists for their patience while this work is carried out.

“Council will continue to monitor and assess the condition of the Region’s roads over the coming weeks.”

To report a damaged road, contact Council on 131 872. 

For a full list of road closures visit tr.qld.gov.au and search “rain affected roads.”

FARMERS

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Furner said people need to be prepared heading into our summer rainfall season.

“We are currently in a situation where a La Niña event has been declared, which means an increased chance of above average rainfall across most of Queensland for late spring and summer,” Mr Furner said.

“We’ve already been hit with hailstorms and heavy rainfall this spring, and conditions have the potential for more tropical lows leading to the increased possibility of significant rainfall in areas of the state.”

Information on disasters for small business including primary producers is available here.

DISASTER DASHBOARD

Toowoomba Regional Council runs an online Disaster Dashboard that collates important information from a variety of sources such as the Queensland Government and Ergon Energy.

It includes road closures, emergency contacts, power outages, river heights, fire danger ratings and school closures.

To access the dashboard, visit here.



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