A program to install family-friendly temporary accommodation for flood-affected Fitzroy Valley communities in Western Australia's Kimberley region achieved a significant recovery milestone this week.
The majority of the families in the Fitzroy Valley communities of Bungardi, Darlngunaya, Burawa, Fitzroy Crossing, Karnparmi, Loanbun and Muludja, whose government-owned and managed homes were flood damaged in January, have now moved into the newly installed temporary accommodation units.
Forty-seven temporary accommodation units have been fully installed in seven floodaffected communities as part of the Kimberley Floods Temporary Residential Accommodation Program.
The temporary accommodation program is jointly funded by the Australian and WA governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). Each unit consists of two demountable-style modules connected by a central verandah. They are fully furnished and designed to suit family living and have been installed at a height to withstand a "one in 50 year" flooding event.
Kimberley MLA Divina D'Anna said it was "great" that the longer-term temporary accommodation units have now been completed to support those who lost their homes during the floods and are waiting for their homes to be rebuilt.
"Now they have a base they can call home just in time for the Christmas holidays," she said on Friday.
WA Minister for Emergency Services Stephen Dawson called the completion of the units "a significant milestone" in the recovery process for people living in these flood affected communities.
"With the installation of temporary accommodation units now completed, the people from these communities impacted by the floods will now have certainty ahead of Christmas," he said.
"They can now remain living on their country in family-friendly accommodation while their flood-affected homes are refurbished or rebuilt."
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said the federal government is "always looking for ways to provide better ongoing support for communities recovering from severe weather events by listening to community leaders and residents"
"It's been absolutely critical to the Australian Government that programs rolled out in the Kimberley take into account requirements for families and cultural needs. This helps to get communities back on country before Christmas," he said.
