Balonne Shire Council condemns vandals who destroyed $250,000 worth of flood monitoring equipment

Ratepayers will foot the bill for the actions of vandals who destroyed $250,000 worth of vital emergency rescue cameras in regional Queensland.

Balonne Shire Council condemns the vandals who have destroyed $250,000 worth of remote flood monitoring cameras. Picture: Supplied.

Ratepayers of a regional Queensland council will be forced to foot the bill of the senseless destruction of cameras installed to keep the community safe during flood events.

While conducting routine maintenance checks Balonne Shire Council were alerted that five of the 19 remote flood cameras stationed across the region have been destroyed by vandals.

In total, $250,000 worth of damage was done to the flood camera network, reversing all the hard work that’s been done to secure federal and state funding in recent years.

Balonne Shire Council said the cost of replacing the vandalised cameras would be a significant burden to ratepayers in a council with a very limited funding capacity.

The cameras take still images only and are not used for monitoring vehicles or people, and most importantly are also used by emergency services to co-ordinate rescue efforts during flood events.

Balonne Shire Council condemns the vandals who have destroyed $250,000 worth of remote flood monitoring cameras. Picture: Supplied.

The cameras are located in remote areas of the river systems on roadways throughout the

shire and are essential for providing real-time information about rising water levels and

potential flood risks to the local community.

Mayor Samantha O’Toole condemned the senseless act of vandalism and said this type of behaviour wouldn’t be tolerated.

A normal operational flood camera that can be found near key rivers and waterways across the Balonne region. Picture: Supplied.

“We urge anyone with information about this vandalism to come forward and contact the

police,” she said.

“We installed these cameras with the help of a government grant to help protect the safety

of our community during times of emergency and to see this senseless vandalism is just heartbreaking.

“We do not use these cameras to monitor people, just flood levels at roadways via

intermittent still shots of known flood-prone roadways throughout the shire.”

The Balonne Shire Council is working with local police to investigate the incident and

increase security measures around the remaining cameras.

For more information, please contact the Balonne Shire Council on [phone].

Balonne Shire Council condemns the vandals who have destroyed $250,000 worth of remote flood monitoring cameras. Picture: Supplied.

Balonne Shire Council condemns the vandals who have destroyed $250,000 worth of remote flood monitoring cameras. Picture: Supplied.