Milestones Early Education Centre pitch in as flooding catches Cootamundra off guard

Flash flooding following a heavy storm recently took residents of the New South Wales regional town of Cootamundra by surprise, however the town rallied, with even its smallest residents playing their part to support the recovery efforts. 

 

After a heavy storm dumped more than 53 mm of rain in the area residents living around Muttama Creek, which courses through the town, were told to evacuate with only a few hours notice to gather their belongings and get to safety. 

 

More than 100 homes near the town were engulfed in the floodwaters which left catastrophic damage which also took out critical local infrastructure including bridges, roads and power.

 

The Cootamundra Red Cross immediately rallied, setting up a Flood Recovery Centre Pop-up Store  where clothing, cleaning products, food hampers and home-cooked meals were made available to flood victims.

 

Toddlers and preschoolers from Milestones Early Education Centre Cootamundra worked together to contribute spaghetti bolognese, butter chicken and curried sausages for those who needed some food, while local store Baileyana, donated new clothes that were supplemented by Thread Together, an organisation founded to donate rather than dispose of unsold clothing, and the local girl guides stepped up to help with sorting.

 

The volunteer-run store has remained open from 10 am to 5 pm weekdays and 10 am to 2 pm on weekends since the flash flood, continuing to support the flood-impacted, and will remain open as needed. 

 

A flood recovery page has been created by the Council and may be viewed here. 

 

Teams from Resilience NSW, Service NSW and Services Australia have also visited the town offering face-to-face recovery assistance, accommodation services, mental health and wellbeing services, support for businesses, financial aid, insurance, and legal support.

 

These multi-agency hubs – known as Recovery Assistance Points – have been designed to dexterously link into each NSW community to support flood-affected individuals, families, farmers and business owners to begin the clean-up and recovery process.