More than half of Australia’s LGAs hit by natural disasters this year

Latest statistics shared by the National Emergency Management Agency has found more than half of Australia’s local government areas (LGAs) have been impacted by natural disasters since the start of 2022.

The nation has been hit by over 40 natural disasters across more than 280 LGAs, affecting over 16 million people across Australia as of last Friday, according to Brendan Moon, Head of the National Emergency Management Agency.

As Australia’s first coordinator general for national emergency management, Moon spoke to the Senate last Friday, flagging the constant state of response and recovery experienced by many communities since the Black Summer bushfire season of 2019-2020.

Approximately 350 defence force personnel have been deployed on the ground in Victoria and 150 in NSW, assisting with the latest floods.

More than 100 areas are reported to have had disaster recovery payments activated for recent floods over the month of October.

These figures are expected to increase, as ongoing flooding continues to extend across further regions. On Monday, disaster assistance was extended to further regions in Victoria, including four LGAs and an Alpine resort area.

Disasters have been declared across Tasmania, Victoria, NSW and Queensland since September 2022, with all four states still experiencing ongoing flooding and storms.

For more information on disasters across Australia, visit Disasterassist.gov.au.