Tweed Shire Mayor Chris Cherry has released a video statement about the likely impacts of Tropical Cyclone Alfred and TSC’s response.
In addition, Tweed Shire Council has released this statement:
‘We want all of the residents of Tweed to know that Council is well prepared. We continue to make decisions to ensure that everyone is as safe as they can be at this time.
‘We’re also really conscious that we need to keep our own staff safe, so we’ve made the decision to close our Council offices in Tweed Heads and Murwillumbah for this Thursday, Friday and possibly Monday. All libraries in the area are also closed. Council staff will still be answering the phone as normal.
‘They’ll be busy, so please only call if it’s necessary and check our Tweed Shire Emergency Dashboard first.’
Further updates from Tweed Council on affected services
- Household bins will not be collected this Thursday and Friday, and we’ll assess when it’s safe to start those collections again after that. Please secure your bins in the meantime.
- We’ve given Essential Energy our key priorities sites for power so if the power goes off, they know what we need most to keep water, wastewater and other essential services going for our community.
- All the floodgates have been checked and the 5 levee floodgates to Murwillumbah’s CBD are being closed as a precautionary measure to protect businesses.
- We’ve cleared as many drains as we could but of course, as the wind increases the drains will fill with debris again. Please do what you can at our own property by clearing your gutters and drains too.
- We’ve filled all the water reservoirs and sandbagged Council-owned community facilities like the Murwillumbah Pool.
- There’s already flood signage on roads where we expect the roads will be impacted. Flood cameras are all checked and working so keep watching them but be aware that they are reliant on power and communications.
- Council staff will be staying overnight at key essential services sites where we expect services to be impacted like the Kingscliff Wastewater Treatment Plant and Chinderah Mechanical and Electrical Depot. This means they can respond as needed any time of the day.
- Council’s plant equipment has all been relocated to higher ground including our new site at Industry Central, Murwillumbah and other key strategic spots. Everything is filled with fuel and ready to go when needed to help our community.
- To assist the rough sleepers in our area and make sure they stay dry, we’ve worked with Assertive Outreach.
‘Remember, visit the Tweed Shire Emergency Dashboard, where you’ll find links to updates on our services and facilities, as well as links to all the information you’ll need from other agencies.
‘Finally, we thank the SES and our other partners for all the work they’ve done and will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. As always, the SES remains the key point of contact for things like emergency rescues but it’s our job to ensure safety and access for the community.’
The latest short video update from Chris Cherry can be viewed below:
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