NSW SES gets first fleet of new rescue boats, vehicles with flood prone areas top of delivery list

ABC NEWS (Australia)

New rescue boats are on the way for the state emergency service. The extra vessels for the expanded fleet were bought after last year's flood inquiry found the volunteer-run service lacked equipment.

Transcript

00:00 On the George's River, a dry run of an exercise that is anything but.

00:07 The Premier watches as volunteers demonstrate a procedure they became well acquainted with

00:15 in 2022.

00:16 The SES did 3,800 flood rescues in one year.

00:22 This was the real thing in Lismore.

00:24 But the local SES unit did not have enough boats to get everyone to safety.

00:29 Citizens carried out rescues with their own vessels.

00:32 We just needed more equipment and needed it placed throughout the state.

00:36 The SES has bought an extra 142 boats, rafts, cars and trucks.

00:42 All vehicles will be fitted with 4G and satellite technology so crews can still communicate

00:48 when networks are knocked out.

00:49 They will actually have a node effectively on top of the vehicles that has a wifi signal.

00:54 The purchase of these additional rescue boats was recommended last year by the Independent

00:59 Flood Inquiry which found the SES needed more equipment to respond to emergencies unfolding

01:04 in different parts of the state at the same time.

01:07 Roads were cut, access was cut and we were limited with what we had in the areas at the

01:11 time.

01:12 The first of the new equipment is being deployed to the areas at greatest risk including the

01:17 northern rivers, central west and Hawkesbury.

01:20 But the Lismore Mayor says the local SES unit needs more volunteers.

01:24 We can buy all the boats and the equipment in the world but if we've got no one to operate

01:27 them then we're going to find ourselves in a similar situation.

01:31 The orange clad crews, priceless.

01:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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