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The devastating February flood which hit the Tweed is estimated to have cost local businesses more than $57 million in damages and loss of trade.
The staggering figure comes from self-assessments of the flood impact by 193 Tweed businesses who voluntarily responded to Council’s Business Flood Impact Assessment survey.
Council will use the information to advocate for greater funding assistance and support for businesses hit by the flood.
The Business Flood Impact Assessment asked businesses to provide a self-assessment on the cost of damage to premises, equipment and stock and the potential loss of trade. It also requested information on the number of staff affected.
The survey found the estimated cost of the flood to the Tweed business community to be around $57,183,565 with 1,855 full and part-time staff impacted.
Mayor of Tweed Shire Chris Cherry said the devastating toll of the flood on the Tweed business community was shocking.
“We can see from the response to our flood impact assessment this event has really hit many businesses and their staff hard,” Cr Cherry said.
“It is crucial that Council does all it can to try to gain addition financial assistance for our businesses to help them recover and get their staff back to work. With the information we have gathered, we hope to present a strong case to the State and Federal Governments for more support for our businesses to get them back up and operating and their staff return to work.”
Small businesses made up 91% of responders, with 86 of them forced to close due to the flood.
The floods impacted a broad range of businesses and industries across the Tweed to varying degrees, with the heaviest impacted regions being the South Murwillumbah Industrial Area, Murwillumbah CBD, Chinderah and Tumbulgum.
Cr Cherry said it was difficult to estimate the exact commercial cost of the flood across the entire Shire because the assessment was entirely up to businesses to participate in.
“We are grateful for those businesses who have provided information to us which Council will use to advocate on their behalf,” Cr Cherry said.
“Businesses that were directly affected suffered a loss in trade with roads and communications cut, a loss of stock and damage to their premises.
“This does not include the cost of the clean-up.”
Any business owners who wish to contribute to the survey can do so by visiting the Business Flood Impact Assessment Survey at Your Say Tweed.
To find out what business assistance is currently available, go to
tweed.nsw.gov.au/community/business-emergency-recovery
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