Dozens of properties in Tasmania’s Derwent Valley have been damaged by this week's severe weather and flooding and the hard work of cleaning up has begun. In the state's north and north-west 12 thousand households are still without power after this week's wild weather.
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00:00The New Norfolk Bowls Club on the banks of the River Derwent was awash with water days
00:07ago.
00:08At its peak, flooding in the building was waist-high.
00:11So, certainly a big influx of water over the main lower floor of the club, so this is going
00:20to be the biggest clean-up we've had for a while.
00:23The club's not insured because it's in a flood zone.
00:27It's a bit of a nerve-wracking experience and certainly for a community that relies
00:31on the Bowls Club for drinks, bowls, exercise, it's a bit of a problem for us.
00:38The caravan park is also a mess.
00:41Debris from the river needs to be cleared away.
00:47Some roads in the Derwent Valley have been reopened.
00:50Others will need major repairs.
00:54At Westerway, the community has been isolated for three days.
00:58The local roadhouse has been the only place open for supplies.
01:01It's been very good for business and hopefully we've been able to help out the locals with
01:06what they've needed.
01:07We've had trouble getting milk and bread through, but that's all come through yesterday and
01:12today.
01:13Authorities say rapid impact assessments show 37 properties across the upper Derwent Valley
01:18have been damaged by floodwaters.
01:20They include two homes, as well as sporting facilities, public toilets, sheds and fences.
01:27In the north, the fallout from the wild weather continues.
01:30Shirley Salenko hasn't had power for four days.
01:33It is just unbearable.
01:35There's no water, there's no nothing.
01:39It's like living on that TV program alone, fending for yourself.
01:47But at the local neighbourhood house, she's been able to charge her phone, have a shower
01:52and a hot meal.
01:54People like to be looked after and to be warm, and like a couple of people said, we didn't
01:58realise how much we needed this until we were here.
02:02Households without power for more than three days can now access government grants worth
02:07$350 for food relief.
02:10A fridge or a freezer full of food that has gone as a result of the power connections
02:16being disconnected for some time, that's a large expense for any family, any household.
02:23Businesses are also struggling with outages.
02:26This one in the Tamar Valley has gone five days without power.
02:30We've had to stop doing our deliveries and harvesting and that, so half our crew's not
02:36here on site at the moment.
02:38Amid unprecedented power outages, Tas Networks has been in dispute with the electrical union.
02:45The Fair Work Commission has ordered industrial action by unionised staff be suspended for
02:50a month.
02:51I thank Fair Work for its determination and now we can get on with the important job of
02:56getting people restored to the power system.
02:59Crews will be making the most of the calmer weather to restore as many connections as
03:03possible before another front crosses the state later this week.