Rodney Stevens
It was standing room only at Yamba Golf and Country Club on Sunday as more than 250 Clarence Valley residents proactively engaged in a flood awareness and resilience meeting, leaving with vital knowledge to help them survive and conquer the next stormwater and Clarence River flood event.
The Yamba Community Action Network Yamba CAN Inc. and Valley Watch who hosted the meeting invited politicians, council’s GM, councillors, the SES, NSW Police, Fire and Rescue NSW, and NSW Ambulance to attend.
Clarence Valley Deputy Mayor, Jeff Smith, Cr Greg Clancy, and potential council candidate, Cristie Yaeger attended.
Yamba CAN Chair Col Shephard opened the meeting, defining awareness and resilience before advising attendees to study two important clauses in the Clarence Valley Council Local Environmental Plan 2011, 521 relating to flood planning, and 522 about Special Flood Considerations.
Valley Watch Treasurer Graeme Granleese then spoke about the State Disaster Mitigation Plan, encouraging locals to have input to help create a Disaster Adaptation Plan for the area.
Keynote speaker, Greens MLC and chair of a current NSW parliamentary inquiry into the planning system and impacts of climate change on the environment and communities, Sue Higginson said the NSW planning system which was developed in the 1970s is archaic and “broken” and the inquiry aims to help reform the system.
She said after the 2022 floods both the Prime Minister and Premier both said we need to stop any further developments on floodplains.
“The system facilitates these developments…it’s a planning system of the past,” she said.
“It often goes against the wishes of local people, with local knowledge.”
Ms Higginson commended Yamba CAN Inc. and Valley Watch for their proactive actions and advocacy in educating and informing the community about floods.
“You are the key to your future in developing your preparedness for the next flood event,” she said.
After an informative and graphic slideshow of images and videos of the 2022 flood, Yamba CAN Inc. executive member and long-term Yamba resident, Craigh McNeill, who has spent hundreds of hours researching councils new flood model, presented valuable information on flood awareness, how Yamba floods, Australian Height Datum AHD and how it is calculated.
According to council’s new flood model, Mr McNeill discovered in a 1 in 100-year flood most houses with a 2.5 metre floor level AHD between the Angourie Road roundabout to Oyster Channel, Yamba, would flood.
Mr McNeill said Lake Wooloweyah significantly impacts Yamba flood behaviour, in the 2022 flood the lake continued to fill for 28 hours after the flood peak at Yamba, and Oyster Channel holds back floodwater, exacerbating and extending effects on Yamba.
SES Community Capability Officer, Tracey Doherty clarified that Yamba Bowling Club isn’t the designated flood refuge for Yamba, and flood refuges are determined by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.
Mrs Doherty encouraged everyone to develop an Emergency Plan, have an Emergency Kit prepared, and to download and understand the Bureau of Meteorology, Hazards Near Me and Emergency Plus smartphone apps so they are prepared for the next event.
In the event of a flood, Mrs Doherty encouraged everyone to watch the Clarence Valley SES Facebook page for alerts, to listen to ABC radio 94.5 the official emergency broadcaster, and she advised people to have a location to evacuate to rather than relying on a designated flood refuge.
The SES requested dated photos of previous floods and promised to return so they can assist in mapping the data, photos, and information provided by locals to help prepare a plan for flood impacts.
An engaging question and answer session followed where Ms Higginson encouraged locals to talk to councillors, email council, and push to get council’s Emergency Sub Plan on a meeting agenda to implement changes to the plan.
Ms Higginson said the event was a “remarkable” meeting, she was overwhelmed by how many people attended and the clear message that locals delivered was “we have got to stop development on the Yamba floodplain”.
“People want to be prepared for floods and they don’t feel they have the information they need to be prepared, so it was fantastic that the SES were here to start that conversation,” she said.
“What was clear, is that everyone in this room feels as though their council are letting them down at the moment.”
Ms Higginson said the people have the power to enact change and encouraged all locals to carefully consider who they vote for in the September 2024 council elections.