ADF figures reveal huge flood recovery effort at Gympie

The rollout of Australian Defence Force personnel in the wake of the February flood crisis was a storm of controversy across Queensland and New South Wales but figures show that in Gympie, they simply got on with the mammoth recovery job.

Gympie’s flood recovery was guaranteed to be no small task following the second highest disaster on record, but new figures released by the Australian Defence Force have revealed the staggering extent of the work at hand.

The numbers, supported by data from Gympie Regional Council, show the service was responsible for clearing hundreds of tonnes of flood debris from houses and roads across the region, and helped check on the safety of more than two dozen people.

The ADF’s role in response to the floods became the centre of controversy after the disasters inundated Gympie, South East Queensland and New South Wales’ Northern Rivers at the end of February.

The service was criticised after Lismore locals resorted to crowdsourcing helicopters to drop supplies to stranded residents, and soldiers were jeered by people including a team stopped to eat at a Chinderah KFC.

In another incident, one member was reportedly spat on.

Major General David Thomae defended the ADF’s response at the time, saying crews had been helping across flood affected areas from February 25 and had “done all that we can within the conditions we have been faced with”.

ADF crews were responsible for clearing hundreds of tonnes of rubbish and debris from across Gympie following the floods, including four tonnes from Kidd Bridge and Exhibition Rd.

Those effort played a large part in what has been a remarkable effort to get Gympie back on its feet over the fortnight crews were in town.

According to the ADF’s figures, 450 tonnes of debris was removed from Gympie, including four tonnes of waste from Kidd Bridge and Exhibition Rd.

In total, 50 truckloads of rubbish were carted away, and ADF members checked on the wellbeing of 27 people left vulnerable in the wake of the floods.

ADF crews were also involved in clearing the River to Rail trail and reinforcing Ray Myers Rd north of Imbil to restore road access to flood affected residents, according to reports from Gympie Regional Council.

Crews cleared 102 houses, eight businesses and five public spaces.

A Gympie Regional Council spokesman said crews arrived at the start of March and stayed until the 12th, working about eight hours each day for almost two weeks.

Almost 100 ADF members were stationed in Gympie across a three-week period to help with the clean-up from the catastrophic flood events in February.

A new crew then returned to the region for four days from March 16 to 20.

In total, 89 servicemen and women assisted with Gympie’s recovery, the ADF said.

Gympie mayor Glen Hartwig welcomed the ADF’s help in the wake of the disaster.

“Having ADF members involved in our flood recovery was a massive help,” Mr Hartwig said.

“ I would like to thank them, our council staff and all of the community who assisted in the clean-up.

“The ADF are always a pleasure to deal with.

“They are professional, motivated and I think it was reassuring for our community to have their presence in the region after what was a truly challenging event.”