Central West NSW Flood Disaster
Central West NSW experienced one of the most disastrous series of flooding events in recorded history during November of 2022. CMOC – Northparkes (Northparkes) is integrated in the local Parkes and Forbes Shire communities, being a residential mine with employees living in Parkes, Forbes, Eugowra, Euabalong and other Local Government Areas surrounding the mine.
In the week following the significant rainfall event of Monday 14 November, entire towns across the region were inundated with water. The flooding of November decimated the town of Eugowra, flooded areas of Parkes that had never experienced such water levels, and caused Forbes to be flooded for the second time in as many weeks. Thousands of people have been displaced from their homes, many have lost their homes, businesses have faced irreparable damage and our local communities are facing an overwhelming recovery ahead.
Jianjun Tian, Managing Director said “we are thinking of our community, our local businesses and the wider region who have and are continuing to face extreme hardship. In this period of recovery, we will continue to support our communities in any way we can”
Jianjun continued “In the days and weeks following the flooding of November, over 5 thousand material items were donated, over 1.2 thousand hours of volunteering was undertaken and several events were cancelled to make funds available to donate to the community.”
Triple Flag Precious Metals, our gold streaming partner have provided a donation of $50,000 towards the communities impacted, and $100,000 is being committed by Northparkes.
Following consultation with our local shire councils, Resilience NSW, and the SES to determine the suitable program, a total of $150,000 is planned for donation to the Parkes, Forbes and Cabonne communities impacted by the recent flood events.
Forbes Shire Council and Parkes Shire Council have received $75,000 and $50,000 respectively for the purchase of ‘Why leave Town’ vouchers, which will be distributed to residents impacted by the flood based on data made available by SES damage assessments and Resilience NSW.
Eugowra will be receiving $25,000 to support the recovery and rebuilding of the town, with the final programme for donation being finalised in 2023.
State and Federal Government representatives including Australian Prime Minister, Hon. Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier, Hon. Domenic Perrottet visited the region during the period of disaster and announced a range of measures to support the recovery of our region. International Emergency Services were deployed from New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States to support the local Australian Emergency services respond to the disaster. The response to the 2022 floods was a multi-agency approach, which saw resources being deployed in mass, across our region, to aid our communities.
More information can be found on the Resilience NSW website – https://www.nsw.gov.au/resilience-nsw and by contacting Parkes and Forbes Shire Council Offices.
Media enquiries:
Laura Mansell
Northparkes Mines
Community & External Relations Advisor
02 6861 3556
