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Mar 11, 2024

Eugowra temporary accommodation pod removed as calls grow for more flood assistance

Almost nine months on from devastating flooding described as an "inland tsunami', long-time Eugowra resident Grace Katon and her dog Honey have finally moved back into their home. Ms Katon, 83, had

Almost nine months on from devastating flooding described as an "inland tsunami', long-time Eugowra resident Grace Katon and her dog Honey have finally moved back into their home.

Ms Katon, 83, had been living in a self-contained pod since the floods.

Her pod has become the first in the town to be officially decommissioned, marking a milestone in the slow recovery.

Ms Katon said she was grateful for the accommodation but was excited to be moving back into her own home.

She said her experience in the November flood was something she could never have imagined.

When flooding hit Eugowra, she became stranded on top of her car for hours before fainting and falling into the water and having to be rescued by her stepson.

Ms Katon said she severed a tendon in her hand and had to be flown to Orange hospital.

"I am so grateful for all the handouts that we have been given here, it's been marvellous," she said.

On Wednesday the NSW Reconstruction Authority removed the pod from Ms Katon's backyard as her house was finally ready to live in.

Ms Katon said the generosity shown by people as she tried to make her house liveable again was amazing.

She spoke about tradespeople doing jobs for free and stores in nearby towns giving her free furniture.

"The generosity of some people, you know I've got no words for it," she said.

The self-contained pods provided shelter, heating and a safe place to live on-site while the mammoth task of repairing and rebuilding houses was underway.

The authority said there were 88 pods already installed in the region and 10 more still being installed.

Many residents in Eugowra are still waiting for insurance claims to be processed as they live in pods on-site months after the disaster.

Cabonne Shire mayor Kevin Beatty said the council was facing more than $20 million in damage to community assets such as public toilets and sporting fields from last year's flooding, and it was only insured for about $3.5 million.

A massive volunteer effort sees 135 air-conditioning units installed in the town of Eugowra.

Cr Beatty, state MP Phil Donato and federal member Andrew Gee have again called for the Community Assets Program and the Home Buyback Scheme to be extended to the central west.

The schemes allow severely impacted residents in the Northern Rivers to sell their property to the government and provide funding to fix publicly-owned assets.

"This recovery process is going to take years, so our message would be, please work with us, I know that you are, and please keep the support coming," Mr Gee said.

In response the state government said it was still assessing what programs would be made available to the central west and highlighted budget constraints and federal cooperation as a sticking point.

"We're going through a budget process at the moment, we're having a look at a whole range of things, but the reality is we inherited $187 billion in debt," Planning Minister Paul Scully said.

Mr Scully said the government was working on support programs and was visiting the region to hear about what worked best.

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