South Australian councils have welcomed disaster assistance following Cyclone Tiffany. 

The SA Government this week announced that disaster assistance is available for 14 local councils impacted by severe weather events following tropical cyclone Tiffany, which brought severe weather, heavy rainfall and flooding between 21 January and 2 February 2022.

Local Government Association of South Australia (LGA) president Mayor Angela Evans said the funding would be critical to the recovery of regional communities and allow councils to manage both short term and long-term disaster costs.

“It’s a big relief to have this decision recognise the very significant impacts being felt right across the north and centre of our state,” Cr Evans said.

“I want to thank the council staff who have worked tirelessly to support their communities in the immediate aftermath of these events, and also worked with us to gather the evidence needed to secure this joint Federal-State funding.”

Cr Evans said impacted councils urgently require funding to restore critical infrastructure and services for their communities, including transport and communication services and to address supply chain blockages.

She also emphasised that councils are still working through whether the promised funding would meet their recovery needs, and which other councils will still need support.

“Up to 45 council areas were affected by the recent extreme weather and flooding, and most councils are still assessing the damage, so further councils may need to be added to this preliminary list,” Cr Evans said.

“We have been speaking with state agencies about the special circumstances involved, so we just need to clarify what this decision means for those communities.

“The problem isn’t over because the bad weather has ended. Councils are still dealing with the disruption and secondary consequences that follow natural disasters, and we will continue to work with our members and state agencies to support councils and communities through this process.”

Reports say the Federal Government is ready to provide additional assistance once longer-term recovery needs are identified, Cr Evans said councils are looking forward to continuing that conversation.