North Coast communities will be better prepared for emergencies with $378,000 in NSW Government funding announced today.

 Nationals Parliamentary Secretary for Northern NSW Ben Franklin and Minister for Police and Emergency Services Troy Grant made the funding announcement while meeting with local residents who were affected by the 2017 floods.

 Mr Franklin said funding will go towards the building and installation of a state of the art automated flood warning network.

 “Our community was devastated by the majoring flooding in 2017, and we want to ensure our community is better if we are faced with this emergency situation again,” Mr Franklin said.

 “That is why we are announcing $250,000 in NSW Government funding which will see the installation of a flood warning network for Byron Shire’s coastal catchment. The warning will be based on live rainfall and creek levels measurements.

 “The network will be locally driven and cover urban centres from Billinudgel to Suffolk Park where buildings flood, and will also cover rural areas where road access is often affected.

 “The flood warning network will include notifications to mobiles, including those of visitors and tourists,” Mr Franklin said.

Mr Franklin said $128,000 of the funding announced today will go towards relocating the Far-North Coast Fire Control Centre to the centre of Mullumbimby to allow the area’s emergency services to work together and respond quickly in times of emergency.

 “By relocating the fire services to the town centre, crucial  emergency services will be able to easily share skills, expertise and information during an emergency,” Mr Franklin said.

 “Moving the fire brigade to join police and ambulance services will make their communication seamless and improve collaboration between services during both an emergency and in the recovery period that follows.

 “The new site will also provide meeting spaces for the fire brigade to hold training sessions with vulnerable members of the community.”

 The projects are funded through the NSW Government Stronger Country Communities Fund and the Clubgrants Category 3 Infrastructure Grants.