Jason O'Brien / Australian Associated Press
Defense troops and two navy vessels have been deployed to Queensland, Australia, to help clean up and conduct damage assessments for approximately 19,000 flood victims. An announcement of $2.2 million being paid to 5,400 of the flood victims seeking financial assistance was released on March 4th. Brisbane's volunteer “mud army” was reactivated as the clean-up process was expected to be lengthy.
Approximately 67,000 insurance claims have been filed across Queensland, Australia, and New South Wales, Australia. The Premier of Australia said she had written to the Prime Minister of Australia requesting Category D assistance for $559 million on a 50-50 basis between the state and Commonwealth. Small businesses and not-for-profit organizations would be able to apply for as much as $50,000 in grant funding. The state government estimated 6100 organizations may be eligible for the grants, so far $257 million has been allocated for those grants.