In his 25 years of service, NSW SES Parkes Controller Phil Snow said he has never seen a response quite like the one he’s seen in Forbes these last few days.
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He’s described it as astronomical, as SES volunteers from all over the state descend on Parkes and Forbes to help the townspeople of Forbes deal with the major flood emergency.
SES volunteers have been coming from Sydney’s north, west and south, Richmond, Kiama, mid North Coast, Taree, Orange and Namoi to offer assistances.
The SES has also had a fantastic response from Rural Fire Service members – including Parkes, Fire & Rescue NSW, local police and the Australian Defense Force.
“The RFS, the army and the amount of people who are coming from all over to help is astronomical,” Phil said.
Between 10 to 12 Parkes SES volunteers have been heading over to Forbes to help around the clock with sand bagging, property protection and assisting the Forbes unit.
Phil’s praised the dedication and efforts of his volunteers who have been travelling to Forbes in the afternoons to help out after working a full day in their day jobs.
“They are really giving up their time to support the community,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter where they’re from, they’re there for each other, which is good.”
Phil said he’s also been helping out at the operation centre at the Lachlan Region SES Headquarters in Matthews Street.
“I’ve gone to Forbes on a few occasions and it’s not just the Parkes and Forbes people helping out,” he said.
“I stood at the door of the Forbes SES unit and I saw a football team come and pack 10 pallet loads of sandbags instead of training.
“There’s an atmosphere, a comradeship, I’ve never seen that before.
“I was around for the 2012 and 1990 floods, I have nothing but good things to say about how people come together.”
This year’s floods have been reported as unlike previous floods that have hit Forbes and Phil couldn’t agree more.
“I have [noticed it’s different], the water is coming from all different directions, they’re treading in uncharted waters,” he said.
Meanwhile a Regional Recovery Coordinator will be appointed to oversee the clean-up and recovery effort from the floods.
Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Emergency Services David Elliott announced retired NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Owens would lead the recovery, during a visit to Forbes on Monday to thank emergency services workers involved in the flood response.
The NSW Government will also put in place protections to ensure emergency service volunteers involved in the flood operation are not penalised by their employers for giving up their time.
There have been more than 2300 requests for assistance, mostly relating to roof damage, fallen trees and flooding, and 97 flood rescues.
Evacuation orders remain in place for the North, East, South and West parts of Forbes affecting more than 230 residential properties and some businesses.
An evacuation centre is operating at the Forbes High School.