Mayors' Thank You - Post Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred

Published on 14 March 2025

Mayor Ray Smith

I would like to convey my deep appreciation to everyone that was involved in responding to the recent weather event caused by Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The staff of Clarence Valley Council did an amazing job with crews out every day and night clearing blocked drains, removing debris from our road network and ensuring the safety of residents. More staff were also working behind the scenes providing regular updates to Council’s website and Facebook Page ensuring that the community was kept well informed of road closures, local flooding and general information on the weather situation.

Council also had staff working tirelessly in the Emergency Operations Centre hand in hand with a range of emergency services.

The State and local SES are also to be congratulated on their wonderful efforts and here are some statistics that emphasise the first-class work of these volunteers:

  • 13,720 calls to their Operations Centre
  • 7,414 incidents logged to attend
  • 3,300 plus SES members involved throughout the response

There were so many more agencies and organisations involved in responding to this event such as the local police, the ADF, our local State and Federal members, a range of State Government Agencies, the Grafton Golf Club and Maclean Showground Trust and the local media, all of whom worked in such a collaborative way to guarantee the safety and well-being of our community.

We are now in recovery mode with staff currently assessing the damage to council’s infrastructure the details of which will be the subject of a report to council in due course.

I am sure that I can speak on behalf of the Clarence Valley community by saying:
Thank you to everyone for such a wonderful example of teamwork and cooperation.

More thank you's from the Mayor

Last week I issued a statement thanking a wide range of organisations for their efforts in responding to the affects of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, however, I unintendedly missed a number of other wonderful organisations, whose members also contributed significantly to the safety and well-being of the residents of the Clarence Valley.

Those organisations include the NSW Rural Fire Service, NSW Fire and Rescue, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and Anglicare and if I have missed any other group I apologise.

Once again, a huge thank you to these organisations and their volunteers from a very grateful community.

 

Ray Smith PSM
Mayor
Clarence Valley

Tagged as:
Back to top