Australia: St George Ready to Withstand Next Flood

The completion of St George’s new levee system will provide a more certain future for its residents.

Community Recovery and Resilience Minister David Crisafulli said the town had suffered three major floods in the past five years.

The 2.6 kilometre block wall and earthen embankment levee is designed to withstand a flood even higher than the 2012 event which damaged 50 houses and the Warrawee Aged Care facility, which had been evacuated three times in three years.

Stage One of the levee protects homes and the aged care facility at the southern and northern ends of the town, while the Stage Two block wall joins the levees in the middle to protect the main part of town.

Costing $5.6 million, the levee was funded through State and Federal funding and a partnership between the Balonne Shire Council and the Churches of Christ, owners of the Warrawee Aged Care facility.

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Press Release, March 12, 2014