As the damage bill for the extensive flooding in Tasmania in June and July hits $180 million, Premier Will Hodgman has stated that it will take years before the full cost of floods can be measured,
Mercury reported.
North and North-West recorded the worst flooding in 90 years, which resulted to the death of two people with a third still missing and the damaging of 130 properties. Agricultural land and vital infrastructure were also destroyed. In the South, the flooding was the worst Huonville experienced in 20 years.
Also hit hard by the flooding are state-owned businesses. TasWater is looking at a damage bill of up to $25 million, not all of which will be covered by insurance. TasRail incurred an estimated $8-$10 million in water inundation damages at 65 separate locations, and is working on its property damage insurance claim, said the report.
Meanwhile, it is harder to put a price on the cost of damages to Tasmania’s natural environment and wildlife, said the
Mercury report. The report cited the discovery of some 100 dead freshwater lobsters in the state’s North-West, which raises concerns about the endangered species’ future.
“The full impact of the flood may take some further months or years to be realised,” Hodgman told the State Parliament on Tuesday.
According to
Mercury, the State Government has commissioned a study to look into what needs to be done to rehabilitate ravaged rivers, including the Mersey, Meander, South Esk and
Macquarie basins, and provide a cost-benefit analysis of Launceston’s flood levees and flood mitigation options for the Huon Valley.
The Flood Recovery Taskforce will also report on the lessons learned from the crisis, with input from the 19 local government areas hardest hit by the flooding; while the State Emergency Service will lead a multi-agency “After Action Review,” an interim report of which is expected to be released on September 1, said the report.
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