newcastle WED 29 APR 2015
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Baird’s storm shock Premier gets firsthand look at devastation during visit to Hunter region AMELIA PARROTT
@amelia_parrott
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remier Mike Baird says he was shocked by the amount of devastation he was met with when visiting the Hunter in the wake of last week’s storm. Meeting with State Emergency Service (SES) personnel at Metford last Thursday, Mr Baird said it could take months for the region to fully recover. “You can’t really appreciate the size and the scope of the devastation until you see it firsthand and it is nothing short of devastating,� he said. “We’ve seen homes, cattle, this whole landscape completely and utterly devastated - floodwaters everywhere and [it will take] a long time until we get this community back on its feet.� Mr Baird said while the cost of the disaster was yet to be tallied, he anticipated the damage bill to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnsen said the path to recovery in Dungog, where four houses were swept away in floodwaters and three elderly residents lost their lives, would be particularly long. “This is going to be a very tough recovery on an emotional level for the town of Dungog,� he said. “I’m there with you, our wider community is there with you, our emergency service personnel are there with you, and the government’s there with you at both a state and federal level.� Mr Baird had a similar message for residents of Dungog. “I don’t think any of us could imagine circumstances where our life is literally washed
An aerial view over Maitland Image: NSW PolAir away, I mean, your personal possessions, all your memories are lost in an instant,� he said. “That’s something that’s devastating and something that you’ll never ever forget.
“But I think what we’ve shown as a state and nation is that we can come through these events and that’s exactly what we’ll do - we will come through.�
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