The recovery phase of dealing with the storm that hit Belconnen in January has begun. Workers are busy on the streets, clearing up the debris, but it will take several months before they complete their mission.

On Monday 3 January, trees fell on houses, cars, and roads; powerlines were torn down, leaving thousands of people without electricity; and houses and offices were flooded. Emergency services received more than 1,200 calls for help that night.

Over the last month, clean-up crews made safe immediate hazards on public land, and cleared roads, driveways, and pathways, said Chris Steel, ACT Minister for Transport and City Services.

They are now clearing fallen trees and debris in high-use areas around shopping centres and schools, and will then tidy up nature strips, playgrounds, sportsgrounds, and parks.

Signs throughout Belconnen suburbs and electronic signs on arterial roads indicate storm clean-up is ongoing.

Transport Canberra and City Services crews have worked hard to clear the damage since the storm struck. This week, 20-odd workers from the ACT Parks and Conservation Service joined them to remove trees and debris across Belconnen faster, Mr Steel said.

A dedicated Storm Response Coordinator will ensure the most affected areas are dealt with as quickly as possible.

“Even with these extra resources, the large number of damaged trees and branches on public land means that the storm clean-up is going to take several months,” Mr Steel said.

“The scale of the damage, as well as the need for crews to work in a COVID-safe way, means the recovery will take some time,” said Yvette Berry, ACT Deputy Chief Minister and Member for Ginninderra.

While Belconnen is a particular focus, priority or safety work would continue across Canberra, she said.

Storms may affect recovery efforts, if crews are redeployed to address urgent safety issues after storms.

“These storms will happen again,” Ms Berry said. “This is the absolute effect of climate change in our community. We will see more ferocious storm events, and will need to respond to them in different ways.”

Emergency Services Agency (ESA), State Emergency Service (SES), and EvoEnergy staff came back voluntarily from leave to help in January.

Ms Berry and Mick Gentleman, ACT Minister for Police and Emergency Services, thanked them.

“The ESA and SES volunteers did an incredible job in responding quickly and effectively to the storm damage,” Mr Gentleman said.

“While not their usual role, ESA and SES continue to support agencies leading the recovery effort. The safety of Canberrans remains a priority of the ACT Government, and will continue helping Canberrans prepare for extreme weather events.”

The community had also done much of the clearing work themselves. Under normal circumstances, Ms Berry said, the government would not encourage that.

“But given the storm … everybody chipped in to make sure their neighbourhoods were safe and cleared. It’s been a really great community effort.

“That’s what Canberrans do in a crisis like this: hands on the ground, and we support each other.”

Tara Cheyne, ACT Minister and Member for Ginninderra, thanked the community for their patience as crews cleaned up the region, and urged them to be safe when approaching areas damaged by the storm.

More than 2000 requests for help were logged through ‘Fix My Street’ and completed clean-up audits. Ms Cheyne encouraged the community to let them know where work needed to be completed.

•           If you see a tree fallen on powerlines, call @EvoenergyACT on 131 093. If powerlines are down, don’t approach them, and keep at least 8 metres away.

•           If there’s a tree down on private land, the landowner is responsible for its removal. Please don’t move the tree or branches to the nature strip.

•           If you see a tree down on public land, you can log a ticket using www.act.gov.au/fixmystreet

•           If you see a tree that is unsafe or damaging property, call ACTSES on 132 500.

•           Be storm ready. Stay up to date with @ACTESA and take the time to prepare or update your emergency survival plan at bit.ly/3qBynkt

For more information on the ongoing storm recovery, visit cityservices.act.gov.au/stormrecovery

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