SES volunteers give 700 hours to community 

From January 2013 to January 2014 local volunteers were called to 60 tasks for a total of 699 hours.

It should also be noted that figure only refers to the time taken at the scene itself and doesn’t include travel or the time volunteers also dedicate to training for the organisation. 

Local Unit Controller Ian Forrester said, “the team have put in a lot of hours last year”, responding to regular occurrences in the local area.

“There were a couple of flash floodings, a lot of trees on roofs, what we normally expect to see here in Mudgee,” he said.

Storm season falls between October and March every year and is the time of year when severe storms occur more frequently.

Mr Forrester said that from October to December the local unit put around 370 hours into responding to requests for assistance from the public, close to half the of the overall time for the whole year.

He added that time included a callout on Christmas Day when Mudgee was hit with 30mm of rain.

“That was a leaking roof at a block of flats in Market Street and it was completed at 2.40pm,” he said.

“The team certainly did a good job of getting out there and getting it done, and they went out when they were probably winding down from their Christmas Lunch.”

For information on how to prepare your home for storms check out the NSW SES’s website stormsafe.com.au.

For emergency help in floods and storms, contact the NSW SES on 132 500, and if your emergency is life threatening call triple zero (000).