State Government assessors are visiting Riverland properties to witness firsthand the extent of damage from South Australia's devastating hail storm on Friday.
They have inspected farms from Taylorville to Yamba in the Riverland and met with growers at informal shed meetings and barbecues this week. A storm recovery hotline (0476 834 530) set up in the wake of the disaster has received calls from 80 primary producers. The damage assessment will form the basis of any government financial relief packages and growers have been encouraged to report all storm damage. "The only estimates we have are some industry estimates around $100 million but we really need to quantify that to move forward," Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) acting deputy chief executive Will Zacharin said. "[We are] putting the damage picture together and understanding the extent of the storm hail scar so we can provide that to government to tailor an appropriate recovery package." The hail storm on Friday November 11 stripped some stone fruit, almond, grape, vegetable and grain crops. It has also damaged tree buds and vines and may impact on next year's citrus, grape and stone fruit crops. "Damage to wine grapes has been significant, we understand there are over 200 growers affected across the Riverland, those areas include Taylorville, Berri, Barmera and Lyrup in particular," Mr Zacharin said."We have also had some heavy damage and losses of between 80-100 per cent to stone fruit including nectarines, apricots and also damage to almonds."It is quite significant although it has been patchy; some people who own multiple blocks have got pretty well smashed on one block and another block half a kilometre away hasn't been touched."
Farmers band together after 'catastrophic' storm
Growers have been reaching out to support each other, calling up to check in on friends and neighbours amid concerns about the mental health of those facing heavy losses. A gathering of growers was held at Cadell on Wednesday morning and at a barbecue at Lyrup in the evening; impact assessors were present at both events to provide support and technical assistance. One of the first stories to emerge from the storm was that of Yianni Koutouzis, a Berri wine grape grower who watched from his farm shed as golf-ball sized hail stones hit his orchard."It was catastrophic; we have been farmers for over 40 years we were scared for our lives," said Berri wine grape grower Yianni Koutouzis."Our farms were totally wiped out, 100 per cent wiped out. Our wine grapes and table grapes all gone. We're shocked, scared and don't know what to do next." The storm caused a power outage that affected more than 2,000 customers. Public libraries at Berri and Barmera were forced to close after flooding and businesses and schools experienced flooding and damage to roofs and sheds. Patients at Barmera Hospital were moved after storm damage and roofing iron was ripped from the Tailem Bend hospital staff accommodation while several hospitals had flooding. Houseboats were damaged at Mannum and hail damage to vehicles left a hefty insurance bill across the Riverland and South Australia. Source - http://www.abc.net.au
