Gympie’s $100m flood disaster decimates business community

The Gympie Mayor has lashed out at the region’s “second rate internet” which hampered flood responses during the city’s worst natural disaster in 120 years, and warned multiple businesses won’t survive this after two years of Covid.

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig has estimated the cost of the devastating 2022 floods on the region will be in the order of $100 million.

He “urgently” called on the State and Federal Government to immediately offer support to the countless businesses impacted by the floods, warning that if they didn’t many would simply never reopen.

Photos: Gympie’s devastating flood damage revealed

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After two years of struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic, they had no reserves to fall back on, and many had lost all their fit-outs and suffered massive flood damage.

“Anyone who thinks (the cost to the region of this flood) is only going to be tens of millions is kidding themselves,” Mr Hartwig said on Tuesday afternoon as he visited devastated business people in the CBD trying to clean up the mud, debris and destruction.

The record 22.96m flood decimated Mary Street from the pedestrian crossing at Upper Mary Street all the way through to Smithfield Street, going higher than it has in at least 120 years.

Businesses and homes along Brisbane Road also copped the brunt of the floodwaters, as did any homes and businesses in low lying areas.

Mary Street clean up – 1/03/22

“It’s everywhere you go,” Mr Hartwig said.

As Energex and the nbn worked to restore power and internet service to the city on Tuesday, the Mayor thanked them, but said the appalling lack of internet during the floods had to be rectified.

“This is a big issues that needs to be addressed,” he said.

“The ability of our telecommunications to handle an event like this is second rate.”

Mr Hartwig said the flood had gone higher than anyone had expected. He said all bridges were now opened, and after council workers helped with the clean-up in Gympie and nearby townships they would be focusing on assessing the damage to infrastructure region-wide – top priority being roads.

“There is years of work ahead of us,” he said. “There was already years of work after the January floods out west, but any progress made there is gone.”

Mr Hartwig thanked his council team and the broader community for an incredible effort during the disaster, and now, during the clean-up.

Outside the Royal Hotel during the flood clean-up – 1/03/22