NSW: Bourke declared natural disaster zone following floods =2

AAP General News (Australia)
02-17-2009
NSW: Bourke declared natural disaster zone following floods =2

Bourke Shire Council general manager Geoff Wise told AAP damage to public infrastructure
following the deluge could come to $6 million.

"The highest cost is to highways and roads," he said.

"There's been an estimated $200,000 damage to water pumps and water motors."

He added the cost to repair 14km of levee bank surrounding the town was unknown.

"Ironically it's (the levee bank) to stop an overland flow from the river getting into
the town. That bank's been eroded by the torrential rain," he said.

About 25 to 30 homes in Bourke had also been inundated with water, Mr Wise said.

"From a public point of view, our commitment has been to pump that water away so they
are no longer suffering from floodwater," he said.

A number of roads across the state's northwest, including the Kidman Way from Bourke
to Cobar, remain closed.

The highway is the main thoroughfare to Queensland from South Australia, Western Australia
and Victoria and it carries a high number of heavy vehicles, Mr Whan said.

"The road has been closed since Saturday and water levels across it are continuing
to rise, four days later," he said.

AAP hn/bc/apm

KEYWORD: RAIN NSW BOURKE 2 SYDNEY

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