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Forbes declared a natural disaster zone after flooding

Forbes locals pose amid the deluge.

Forbes locals pose amid the deluge. Photo: AAP

Forbes has been declared a natural disaster zone after the region was hit by flooding over the weekend.

The State and Federal governments have jointly announced disaster recovery funding in the Forbes Shire after flooding in the Lachlan River forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents.

Further rain expected in the central west of New South Wales could see the Lachlan River at Forbes reach a higher peak, despite it already being inundated with the greatest water levels in 25 years.

NSW State Emergency Service (SES) public information officer Nick Aisake said while the water level in the Lachlan River was slowly starting to go down after it peaked at 10.67 metres on Sunday night, it was due to rise again in coming days.

Deputy Premier Troy Grant and Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan have visited the town this morning to meet volunteers and affected residents.

Mr Keenan said concessional loans and other assistance would be made available.

“The floodwaters are receding but there are concerns predicted rainfall could prompt renewed river rises,” Mr Keenan said.

forbes floods

NSW Premier Mike Baird visits flood-affected areas. Photo: AAP

Insurance council declares flood area a ‘catastrophe’

Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) spokesman Campbell Fuller said the organisation had declared the flooding in Forbes a “catastrophe”, which meant insurers would deal with claims from the region as a priority.

The ICA has also sought to clarify the situation for farmers who have injured livestock that need to be put down.

He said many farmers whose livestock were injured wrongly believed they could not put them down until the insurance assessor arrived if they wanted to claim for losses.

“That’s simply not the case … the humane approach needs to be followed … primary producers can euthanase their stock without an assessor having seen them first,” Mr Fuller said.
Mr Fuller

But he said farmers would need to provide photographs or other evidence of the injuries and keep ear tags for identification.

Mr Fuller said a taskforce was also being set up to deal with any problems that arise.

He said people should be wary of spruikers knocking on doors offering to carry out repairs for cash payment.

“You need to make sure that the insurer will cover any emergency work so contact the insurer before accepting any assistance and the other thing is you also see some unsavoury characters who are trying to exploit flood victims.”

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