von The Australian Defence Force (ADF) continues to support the State Emergency Service (SES) response to the Victorian floods in the Shepparton region.
About ten specialist vehicles and around 55 ADF personnel based at the Puckapunyal Army Base assisted yesterday in the preparation and delivery of sandbags to the affected areas, and provided flood information to residents.
The commander of the Australian troops on the ground, Major David Jones, says his team’s efforts have been well received in the community.
“The volunteers from the SES are doing a great job preparing for the rise in the water level and everyone seems to be appreciative of the response so far,” Major Jones said.
“Our role here is really just to boost the capacity of the SES in those manpower intensive jobs, such as filling sandbags and knocking on doors.”
“Our vehicles will also be useful should we need to evacuate people from hard to reach areas that civilian vehicles can not get to.”
The lead Commonwealth agency for the flood response, Emergency Management Australia, has forecast the ADF assistance will be required until at least 9 September 2010.
Media contact: Defence Media Liaison: 02 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664
Press release
Ministerial Support and Public Affairs,
Department of Defence,
Canberra, Australia