EWB Australia is committed to mobilising professional engineers in partnership with Holding Hands Under Ground (HHUG) to support flood-affected communities in the Northern Rivers region. There are currently not enough qualified engineers in the Northern Rivers region to support critical flood recovery efforts, and the community needs your help. You can sign up here.
The Northern Rivers of NSW has suffered its worst flooding in European history. In excess of 6000 homes have been inundated by flood waters. Damage to roads and bridges has further impeded community access to basic necessities, including food supplies and safe drinking water. In their rapid assessment, the NSW State Emergency Services has deemed more than 3600 homes in the Northern Rivers uninhabitable.
Approximately 30% of these homes have been deemed to have minor impacts, 50% major impacts and the rest severe or unredeemable. Property owners have been informed by the local government that they must provide a structural assessment report before they are legally able to return to their home.
This requirement is preventing many people from returning home, thus trapping them in evacuation centres or making them homeless. There are currently not enough qualified engineers in the Northern Rivers region to support critical flood recovery efforts.
Due to the high demand for emergency engineering support, EWB Australia is seeking suitably registered and qualified engineers to contribute their time to support project activities on the ground. Qualified engineers from a range of disciplines are needed, including civil, structural, geo-technical and water engineers.
Key information for volunteers
- EWB will fully onboard volunteers and ensure they receive necessary training and support prior to deployment EWB is committed to the safety of our volunteers – with all volunteers covered by EWB insurances.
- Volunteers will need to have the capacity to make their own way to the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.
- All volunteers deployed in the field will be supported by our local community partner – HHUG. If needed, travel between project sites can be facilitated by the local team. There is also an option for volunteers to be hosted in dormitory facilities and work alongside other volunteers supporting recovery efforts, supported and coordinated by HHUG.
All volunteers must have the following:
- Tertiary qualifications with sufficient experience in civil, structural, geo-technical, water engineering and/or WASH engineering discipline or similar preferred.
- Registration as a professional engineer in NSW, Vic or QLD, CPEng, NER etc.
- Ability to manage projects and work both independently and within a diverse project team, with strong skills in communication and reporting.
- Ability to operate in the dynamic and challenging context of disaster recovery.
- Interest in contributing to improving emergency recovery and volunteer mobilisation processes by sharing knowledge and lessons learnt with EWB and Northern Rivers local community partners