$350m storm damage bill prompts government-funded disaster relief for regions across South Australia
The state government has revealed the damage bill from recent storms will top $350m, as new disaster relief funding is announced to help regions and farmers recover.
SA News
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More than $350m damage was caused during recent storms that ripped across parts of the state, the government has revealed, prompting new disaster relief funding.
Assistance is being provided through joint federal and state government funding arrangements, with the total pool yet to be determined.
An October 28 storm, in which golf ball-sized hailstones pelted vineyards, glasshouses and cars, affected growers across the Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, Adelaide Plains and Riverland.
As communities worked to deal with the mess, another storm ripped through the Riverland on Saturday, devastating hundreds of crops and leaving wine grape growers the hardest hit.
Primary Industries Minister David Basham said as well as community support, the disaster recovery arrangements would help councils cover the cost of the extensive clean-up and fix roads and other public assets.
“Early indications are that the storm damage will be more than $350m, which is why we are moving as quickly as possible,” Mr Basham said.
“This disaster assistance will be an important contribution to South Australia’s recovery as we rebuild and get back on track.”
Disaster assistance is available in 24 districts, including the Adelaide Hills, Adelaide Plains, Barossa, Berri Barmera, Clare and Gilbert Valleys, Cleve, Coorong and Yorke Peninsula.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Bridget McKenzie said the disaster assistance would help fund practical measures, including debris removal and financial counselling.
Jordan Brooke-Barnett, chief executive of AusVeg SA, which represents growers on the Adelaide Plains, said at least 3000 tonnes of debris needed to be removed from properties.
“Some people are not even in the right headspace to get started and other people are stockpiling on their farm,” he said.
Lenswood apple and cherry farmer Kym Green estimated about 30 to 40 per cent of his crops were affected by the October 28 storm.
It followed the havoc wreaked upon the Adelaide Hills by other devastating storms in 2018 and 2019, and then the Cudlee Creek bushfires.
“There’s so much damage, you just don’t want to look at it,” Mr Green said.
“Coupled with what nature has sent us over the last two to three years, it’s like the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
People who sustained damage from either storm can contact PIRSA on 1800 931 314.
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