Crews from the Bundaberg SES Unit are all hands on deck in Gympie and Maryborough as they respond to calls for assistance from flood-impacted communities.
The local unit has deployed eight volunteers to Gympie and a further two to Maryborough, with others set to join as the week goes on.
The assistance comes as Gympie's Mary River peaked yesterday at almost 23 metres, the highest level since 1893.
Maryborough's water levels are also rising, with the river expected to peak tonight at 10.7 metres.
Bundaberg SES Unit Local Controller Kieran Galey said the highly-skilled volunteers were deployed in the two regions as part of an initial three-to-five day emergency response.
“These volunteers are highly trained with special skillsets in incident management, flood boat rescue and storm damage operations,” Kieran said.
“They will be helping the communities with transport of essential food and medical supplies, rescuing people and initiating the start of the recovery and clean-up efforts as the water subsides.”
Kieran said the sheer volume of water impacting the towns was a confronting sight for all involved.
“Volunteers and community are seeing record heights from these floods in various locations and there is a lot of debris in the water,” he said.
“The communication we have received from our crews on the ground is that they are seeing very upsetting scenes where residents and local businesses have been impacted so heavily.
“The locals are very grateful for people pitching in and are wanting to get back on their feet and support each other as we start to lead into the recovery efforts.
Kieran said the Bundaberg SES Unit was urging the community not to travel during this time.
“We ask the community to please remember, if it's flooded, forget it ,” he said.
“The services are working around the clock to get to everywhere they can and assist wherever possible.
“Please remain out of the water and if they are not required to be out on the roads please stay home with your loved ones.”
Bundaberg Region Mayor Jack Dempsey said his thoughts were with towns affected by the flooding event.
“My thoughts are with our neighbours who are dealing with severe flooding who we are keeping in close contact with to assist in whatever way possible,” Mayor Dempsey said.
“We’ve sent 3000 sandbags to Fraser Coast from our SES stock and have teams on standby with flood boats to help in Maryborough if needed.
“Please check the Disaster Dashboard for road closure information before travelling and expect long delays when the Bruce Highway reopens and avoid non-essential travel.
“Supermarket shelves are depleted because of road closures so please only make essential purchases and be polite to shop staff, as it will only be a short time before stock is fully replaced.”
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