More than 1,000 sandbags are being made available to the Ipswich community as widespread rain continues to cause localised flooding.
Two locations are now open to the public for the collection of the pre-filled sandbags:
- Council Depot, 182-250 Briggs Rd, Raceview
- Council Depot, 155-165 Mill Street, Rosewood
Previously sandbags were available at the SES Depot at Rosewood but this location has been moved due to nearby flooding.
Both locations will be open to the public for sandbag collection until late into the evening as council continues to monitor the weather conditions.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said staff were busy filling the sandbags to ensure that community demand could be met in a timely fashion.
“We issued approximately 150 sandbags from the Briggs Road collection point just this morning, and we still have another 450 bags ready at that site,” Mayor Harding said.
“Bringing Rosewood online will provide the community with greater access to additional sandbags and increase our ability to meet demand, an additional 400 are now available from that site.”
Council staff preparing sandbags at Briggs Road Depot.
Council’s response to sustained and intense rain events is captured in its Disaster Event Support to the Community Policy and available on council’s website.
Mayor Harding added that this rain event is a timely reminder that we are in storm season and a La Nina weather cycle, meaning there is increased likelihood of above average rainfall and extreme weather conditions.
“With two large rivers and ten major creeks in our area, the impact of sustained rainfall is very real, I would encourage our community to be prepared as best they can by planning ahead,’ said Mayor Harding.
“Having a household emergency plan and an emergency kit can make all the difference in extreme conditions, and there is valuable information on how to develop these on council’s Emergency Management pages on the website.”
Council will continue to monitor weather forecasts and Bureau of Meteorology reports as well as monitoring local conditions and community feedback to determine whether these sites remain open tomorrow, or if additional sites need to be opened.
Please go to the council’s Disaster Dashboard for the most up to date local information on weather events.
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