Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG) is asking local landowners to capture and share details about damage caused by the recent rain and flooding in the Mary River catchment and BMRG region. BMRG is urgently preparing a comprehensive submission requesting disaster funding to support local landowners with the costs of repair and environmental remediation work.
The recent extreme rainfall was unexpected and caused devastation across the region. The rainfall following ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth resulted in isolated falls of over 600 mm in less than 24 hours, with widespread reports of properties receiving over 400 mm. BMRG operations Manager, Peter Kafka, said their team has already visited several impacted properties to assess damage.
“We have seen significant damage to properties. Gullies and streambanks have been eroded, and valuable topsoil has been lost. Fences, irrigation, pumping and feeding equipment has been lost or damaged, and vast amounts of flood debris needs to be cleared before paddocks can be used again for crops or grazing. Dams have been damaged, and many steams and waterholes have been filled by flood debris.
“We are focussed on natural resource management, and we are concerned by the impact of this extreme weather, both to the local landowners and economy and to the environment. We are gathering comprehensive data about the damage and costs to repair, in an effort to see funding support where it is needed. We cannot guarantee funding, and landowners should continue to pursue any other avenues for support, but we hope adding our voice to the call for support will do some good,” Mr Kafka said.
BMRG is asking affected landowners in the Mary River catchment to download this Landowner flood damage submission form and summarise the impact on their property. The completed form should be emailed to admin@bmrg.org.au as soon as possible.