Councillor John Tramby put forward a motion recommending that council carry out the changes suggested at the flood workshop last week.

The Flood Working Committee will consist of Councillors John Tramby, Claudia Gall and Theo Zannes, along with three representatives from the community and two representatives from emergency services.

Mayor Katrina Humphries will be the chairperson of the committee.

Cr Tramby said the changes recommended would enhance the capability of the Moree SES unit to respond to flood emergencies.

Cr Tramby said the council had spoken to the Deputy Commissioner about recruiting SES members who were active in flood situations only.

This would mean they had ‘less onerous’ training responsibilities but would still participate in the SES response in flood events.

“We don’t have the numbers to handle a flood situation; this has been shown in the last few months,” Cr Tramby said.

“In a flood event we need to have numbers in the hundreds.

“We need to actively recruit people to the SES with skills suitable for flood situations,” he said.

Cr Tramby gave the example of people with boat licenses being recruited as boat captains.

Other recommendations in the motion included changes to equipment and its location.

“We need an SES headquarters on this (north) side of town as the town gets cut in half by floodwaters,” Cr Tramby said.

“We also need flood free evacuation centres as the Memorial Hall gets surrounded,” he said.

Cr Tramby proposed the schools be contacted in regard to having evacuation centres set up on their grounds.

The recent floods had also shown that the SES boats, designed for deeper water, were not suitable for travelling through flooded urban areas.

It was recommended that new, shallower based boats be purchased.

Flood markers will be established on all power poles within north Moree and areas of south Moree.

The Moree District Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be enlisted to help take calls on a 24-hour roster so local calls are not being re-directed to locations further away.

“We need about 40 people on a 24-hour roster to make sure calls are answered locally,” Cr Tramby said.

A warden system will also be established so each street will have a point of contact for information in a flood.

C Tramby said he expected the recommendations to have been carried out by next summer.

“I believe (the recommendations) are paramount; we need to be ready for the next flood,” he said.

The council agreed to provide the SES with additional funding of up to $50,000 per annum for the next five years to provide for these changes.