CANBERRA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has made disaster assistance payments available to people who were affected by a severe storm that hit the Outback city of Alice Springs on Monday.
Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain said on Wednesday night that disaster recovery assistance payments have been activated for households, primary producers, non-profit organizations and recovery operations in Central Australia following the storm.
The severe storm developed suddenly on Monday evening, bringing damaging winds, hail and heavy rain to Alice Springs and surrounding areas, causing trees to fall onto powerlines, roofs and vehicles. Around 9,000 properties were affected by subsequent blackouts.
McBain said in a joint statement with Northern Territory (NT) Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro that eligible residents will be able to access a one-off payment of up to 16,901 Australian dollars (about 11,786.4 U.S. dollars) per household for essential structural repairs.
Primary producers will be entitled to assistance covering up to 50 percent of freight costs incurred as a result of the disaster, and non-profits whose assets have been significantly damaged will receive grants worth up to 10,000 AUD.
Finocchiaro said in a separate statement that 51 homes were damaged in the storm, including six that lost more than half of their roof. And 1,800 properties remained without electricity as of Wednesday. ■
