Australia PM pledges aid on visit to flood-ravaged northwest

Reuters:

Jan 9 – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised help to repair homes, replace property and rebuild infrastructure as he toured remote flood-ravaged communities across the northwest after “1-in-100-year” floods.

The crisis in the Kimberley – a sparsely populated area in Western Australia state about the size of the U.S. state of California – was sparked last week by severe weather system Ellie, a former tropical cyclone that brought a year’s worth of rain to some areas in a matter of days.

Albanese announced on Monday A$10,000 ($6,900) for home repair and up to A$10,000 to replace household goods. He said that it was too soon to estimate the full cost of rebuilding wrecked highways and bridges but that the final figure will be “very large.”

“There’s going to be massive infrastructure investment required,” Albanese told radio station 6PR on Monday from Broome, roughly 2,000 kilometres northwest of state capital Perth. “There will also be required support for individuals, and that support needs to be not just financial of course, but we need to bear in mind the need for counselling and support as well.”