The suburbs of Kensington,Kingsford,Botany,Mascot,Randwick and Paddington were the worst hit,and the storm caused a damage bill of $1.7 billion,although the Insurance Council said that would equate to about $5.57 billion now.
The state and federal governments have co-funded an $800 million recovery package for the Northern Rivers region that will allow residents in the greatest danger to sell their homes to the government.
Others will receive funding to raise their houses or rebuild them with more flood-resilient materials and design.
Residents of Eugowra,in the state’s central west,have called for a similar package after a dangerous flash flood on November 14 inundated the town,killing two people and washing houses off their foundations.
They have also expressed concern that insurers will assess the damage as from a flood rather than from a storm,meaning many of their properties will not be covered.
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According to the insurance council,insurers have received more than 780,000 claims for damage from significant or catastrophic floods or storms since January 2020.
More than 237,000 of them related to the February-March floods,with just under a third still to be finalised.
State member for Lismore Janelle Saffin said assessors had struggled with the workload after the flood and more insurance workers,including hydrologists,were needed to clear remaining claims.
She also said some residents of Lismore could no longer secure insurance over their properties. Others could not afford insurance premiums or were under-insured.
“It’s a real problem,” she said. “We need big conversations about this.”
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Figures from Resilience NSW presented to a community meeting in Kangaroo Valley last month show that more than 15,000 homes across the state were damaged in February-March and June-July,and 5500 were deemed uninhabitable.
More than 300,000 tonnes of rubbish was cleared away,and government funding to stricken communities and residents totalled about $4.4 billion.
The damage from the most recent floods to hit inland NSW is still being assessed,the Insurance Council said.
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