Building a Resilient Region; council’s flood recovery response

It has been one year since the 22.96m flood event that devastated areas of the Mary Valley, Gympie city and surrounding suburbs. In those 12 months, Gympie Regional Council has been working hard in areas of recovery and preparedness but there is still a long way to go. 

To assist the community in differentiating between ‘business as usual’ and ‘restoration and recovery works’, council has launched the ‘Building a Resilient Region’ campaign. The community will start see this branding on signage, vehicles, social media and more.

Council is not only focused on resilience and recovery in infrastructure and road networks, but also in the aspects that make up the very fabric of the community. This weekend is the sold-out opening night of the Gallery’s new exhibition ‘22.96 | receding’, which highlights the journey of the last 12 months, and the importance of creative recovery.

“The impact of last year’s events is still present a year on. Council is tasked with fixing a damage area that is extensive; from our city centre to the coast, to the townships west of the Mary. There is hardly a resident, business or stretch of road untouched by last year’s disasters.” said Gympie Regional Council Mayor, Glen Hartwig.

A project page has been set up on council’s website to keep residents up-to-date on our recovery journey and the associated priority projects. Here, the community can find information on the road network, the Memorial Park Bandstand (Rotunda) Project, sporting facilities (Albert Park Complex and Gympie Netball Courts), trail network (River to Rail Trail), Civic Centre, Community Recovery Survey, 22.96 | receding Gallery Exhibition, council’s Flood Recovery Plan and the many resilience workshops and events on offer.

“During the last 12 months, staff have been busy laying the groundwork with reporting, designing, sourcing, and securing external funding to ensure the cost of the damage isn’t footed by the ratepayer. This process takes time, but the community will start to see progress this year with a number of projects getting the green light. 

“We’ve launched Building a Resilient Region so the community can easily recognise our flood recovery response and the hard work council is doing in this space to ensure our community and its infrastructure are resilient against future events.” Mayor Hartwig said.

To read more on Building a Resilient Region and its associated projects visit, 
https://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/building-resilient-region