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Nearly a month since Tasmania’s capital was ravaged by what ICA described as a catastrophic storm, businesses remain closed and homeowners continue to struggle to recover in one of the worst-hit suburbs, as they await answers, repairs, and assistance.
Last month, a record-breaking 100mm of rain was dumped on the greater Hobart region in a single day, resulting in more than 6,700 insurance claims and $45 million worth of damages.
“The total damage bill stands at about $45 million to date,” ICA’s Nick Wiesener told ABC. “That is continuing to increase each day.”
Wiesener said the Kingborough area south of Hobart was one of those worst impacted.
Heavy damages sustained by businesses not only caused business owners financial losses, it also left many employees without work, said Kingborough Mayor Steve Wass.
“While the business is closed, those employees are possibly not on the payroll,” Wass told ABC. “The part-timers and casuals that are employed maybe 10 or 15 hours a week would have no income.”
Wass said the damage bill for the Kingborough Council alone was more than $2 million and the council would seek assistance through National Disaster Relief funding.
Meanwhile, many lives remain disrupted by the storm as they await repairs, including those of Kingston residents Lorraine Thorp and Rita Steenbergen.
“I feel as though I have lost control of everything,” Thorp told ABC. “Because you cannot do anything until the [insurance] assessor or the clean-up crew or somebody says they can do it. The insurance assessor is in Queensland, and you have to go back and forward to work out what is going on. And I just can’t get answers. Who fixes the fence? Who does the yard? Who do I tell what is missing that has been washed away?”
Steenbergen said it would be difficult for her to manage the $2,000 cost of replacing her fence without assistance.
“I thought I was fully insured but it turned out no gates and no fences [were covered],” Steenbergen told the news agency. “The fence is my safety. I live on my own. The back fence was totally destroyed — it is very dangerous for me.”
To provide guidance and assistance to the people affected by the storm, the Kingborough Council, in partnership with the state government, hosted a flood recovery expo in Kingston, which was also participated in by ICA, the Tenants’ Union of Tasmania, Housing Tasmania and Legal Aid, the report said.
