Boots on the ground across the Macleay as recovery effort continues

The taskforce includes the NSW Police Force, Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW), Rural Fire Service (RFS), SES, Australian Defence Force (ADF), Resilience NSW and Kempsey Shire Council.

The recovery effort started on Thursday with the removal of sandbags from the Kempsey CBD and cleaning-up Riverside Park.

RFS Lower North coast Superintendent Lachlann Ison said the recovery phase will last a number of weeks.

"This will be ongoing for some time. We will continue to deal with any tasks that are brought to our attention," he said.

"We are moving from emergency to recovery and there's no time limit on that recovery phase.

"Crews are continuing to help with hosing down properties and have also started community engagement to identify what work needs to be undertaken."

Work that has been carried out by the taskforce over the weekend includes:

ADF crews have delivered 120 bales of hay down Maria River Rd through water up to a metre deep for stranded livestock.

All schools across the Macleay have been inspected by Fire and Rescue, allowing schools to re-open on March 29.

At Smithtown Public School, the crews were able to clean and bleach all the classrooms with mould growth, replaced sandpit sand and mulched the gardens.

Kempsey Shire Council and the ADF have completed the pothole fill at Stuarts Point, Grassy Head and Fisherman's Reach. Work has also started on Summer Island Road, South West Rocks and Arakoon.

RFS crews are assisting with washout and clearing at Smithtown and Gladstone.

Local lands services have worked with landholders to assess and plan for disposal of deceased animals across the shire.

302 properties have been assessed and almost 40 are classed as not inhabitable.

Rapid Response engineers and council staff did a helicopter assessment of roads and bridges upriver where cars could not access using advanced RFS imaging technology.

A number of roads and bridges have also been cleaned as they emerge from floodwaters.

Kempsey Shire is one of the three priority areas in the region to have a dedicated taskforce to lead the immediate recovery effort.

The Recovery Hub at 57 Elbow Street Kempsey will now be open from 8.30am-4.30pm seven days a week to provide face to face assistance and support.

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