Queensland residents experiencing financial hardship as a result of the severe flooding could soon get their hands on disaster payments to help them at their time of need.
Impacted residents in the targeted areas of Gympie and Dallarnil may be eligible for financial assistance, including Emergency Hardship Assistance grants of up to $180 per person and $900 for a family of five or more.
The grants, co-funded by the Commonwealth and State Disaster Relief Funding Arrangements, are to help those directly impacted by the natural disaster to cover the costs of essential items such as food, medication and clothing.
The grants can also be allocated to those who are uninsured and have experienced certain loss or damage from the floods.
The flooding event has forced hundreds of residents to evacuate from their homes and has left a number of properties and businesses across these areas inundated by water.
Communities and Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch said the state government’s Ready Reserves, or recovery workers, were ready to lead community recovery efforts once the flood water subsided and it was safe to travel into those communities.
“These dedicated community recovery workers will be mobilised and on the ground to help affected individuals and families access the financial assistance and support services they need to assist with their recovery,” she said.
Ms Enoch said the state government was continuing to monitor the situation across southern Queensland and was working with local authorities as more areas are impacted.
She urged Queenslanders to closely watch for warnings issued by the Bureau of Meteorology and local authorities.
“Unfortunately, this weather situation is far from over and we know many communities are experiencing flooding.
“We are ready to step up and assist where we are needed, and we expect further activations over the next couple of days as flood waters subside and the extent of the damage becomes clearer.”
Grant applications can be made through the Community Recovery online portal, while those without internet can ring the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349.
Itxjmtzyw was announced earlier on Monday another person – a 59-year-old man – had died due to the floodings, bringing the total number of deaths to seven.
Flooding has hit parts of southeast Queensland including Brisbane, Gold Coast, Gympie, Ipswich, Logan, Lockyer Valley, Moreton Bay, Noosa, North Burnett, Redlands City, South Burnett, Scenic Rim, Somerset, Southern Downs, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and Lismore.
The flood peak that hit the state’s capital city was 3.85m.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Mary River in Gympie had peaked higher than levels in 1999.
As the flood waters subsided from Gympie, she said water was then rising in the Maryborough region, where the river approaches similar levels of up to 10.7m, seen when ex-tropical cyclone Oswald hit the state in 2013.
The premier said the flooding was a “significant” event with about 3600 homes impacted in Gympie and up to 15,000 in Brisbane.
There are also about 51,000 people still without power.
“No one has seen this amount of rain in such a short period of time over our entire southeast catchment zone,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
