Gunnedah rapid damage assessments to take longer than expected, council votes to endorse changes to clean up costs

NSW State Emergency Service (SES) crews had expected to complete rapid damage assessments of flooded streets by Thursday afternoon in the town but the timeline has extended to Friday.

A NSW SES spokesperson told the Leader more time was needed due to properties still being surrounded by water.

"So far the damage has been exactly the same as what happened last time," the spokesperson said.

The Namoi River peaked at 8.05m on Wednesday morning, 15cm below what was predicted.

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The clean up effort comes after Gunnedah Shire Council voted to help alleviate the financial hardship for flood victims.

Council has endorsed the inclusion of a category for 'natural disasters' to Section 610E of the Local Government Act 1993, which allows council to waive payments or reduce fees.

Under the act, fees can currently be reduced or waived for financial hardship and charities.

If the natural disasters category is added, council will able to waive or reduce fees for a certain amount of time following an event like flooding.

The decision to include the new category comes after council offered free waste disposal to help eligible residents to clear flood-damaged residential and household goods from their properties during October and November.

Council staff also arranged to place seven skip bins in the impacted areas of Gunnedah and five skip bins at Carroll, to enable residents to dispose of flood waste.

Eligible flood waste included sandbags, furniture, whitegoods and general sorted domestic waste.

If the natural disasters category is added, council will able to waive or reduce fees for a certain amount of time following an event like flooding.

The addition of the new category has been placed on public exhibition for 28 days.

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