Storm damage bill soars
Posted
The damage bill from vicious storms that lashed Coonabarabran is expected to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Warrumbungle Shire Council will apply to the New South Wales Government for natural disaster relief.
The large hail, strong winds and heavy rain on Wednesday night caused a ceiling to collapse at the local hospital, tore roofs off buildings, and shattered windows.
Mayor Peter Shinton says there are a lot of repairs to be done across the town and State Government assistance would be welcome.
"The council workers have been helping the individuals throughout the town and if you had of seen with emergency staff shoulder to shoulder with locals, and most of these people weren't even on the shift, they just came back to help," he said.
"It was flattering to see so many people helping one another and it would be flattering to think the State Government could do the same for us."
Councillor Shinton says the council's damage bill keeps climbing.
"It appears that with damage to trees and infrastructure it's probably a bill of just under $100,000," he said.
"Probably 20 vehicles have been hail damaged to various extents.
"Most of the staff had vehicles either in the streets or in car parks and by the time they got to them it was too late."
The Greater Western Area Health Service says the Coonabarabran hospital is open.
A spokeswoman says the high dependency unit where the ceiling collapsed may not be available for several days, but staff are considering relocating it to another part of the hospital.
A structural engineer will be brought in to examine the integrity of the building.
Search for news
ABC News Online takes a look at the big stories from 2008.
