The Queensland Government last week released figures to say that flood recovery in the state is around 80 per cent.
But that’s not the case here in Gympie, with less than half of the applications for the Resilient Homes Fund having their issues finalised.
Gympie Today got in touch with the Queensland Department of Energy and Public Works to find out the figures surrounding Gympie and to gauge the progress specifically here.
An EPW spokesperson said the RHF only applies to the 291 homes in the Gympie LGA which were affected by flooding, not the 143 businesses.
“Last year’s flooding event was one of the most devastating natural disasters in Queensland’s history,” the spokesperson said.
The EPW said they had been processing 157 applications from Gympie residents looking to have their home raised, made more resilient or in severe cases, bought off them.
They said 27 applicants had not decided which of the three options they would be selecting with regards to their homes.
“In the most severe cases, homes are being purchased so families can re-establish their lives in areas less prone to flooding,” the spokesperson said.
“So far, 13 offers to buy properties have been made, with seven accepted. Four of the contracts have already been settled.”
The buy-back scheme is currently about half way through, with 28 Gympie homeowners requesting a buy-back.
The other three areas are a little less advanced with one application of the 55 who applied for house raising and eight of the 47 homeowners who applied for resilience funding having their applications finalised.
The EPW were quick to quantify their lethargic response to the crisis so far in Gympie and said the state was still very much in recovery mode.
“More than 7000 homes and 1000 commercial properties were damaged across 39 local government areas and South East Queensland is still very much in recovery mode.
“Initiatives like the $741 million Resilient Homes Fund are helping Queenslanders to be better prepared should disaster strike again.
“The largest recovery package of its size and scale ever rolled out in Australia, the Fund is supporting eligible homeowners to retro-fit or raise their homes so they can return to their normal lives sooner after floodwaters recede, with minimal disruption to family and finances.”
The fund is still open to applicants who were impacted by flood water in their homes last year.
“Impacted homeowners can still register their interest at qld.gov.au/resilienthomes, the EPW spokesperson said.
