Almost two years after Eugowra in New South Wales Central West was engulfed by an inland “tsunami”, governments have announced a $40 million housing program for flood survivors in the region.

The state and federally funded Resilient Housing Program is available to homeowners in the Cabonne, Forbes, Parkes and Lachlan local government areas affected by the November 2022 disaster floods.

Residents of Euabalong in Cobar County may also be eligible for the initiative.

The scheme has three levels of support:

• redemptions: Around 20 homes will be eligible in Molong, Eugowra and Parkes.
• Resistance measures: These include retrofitting, elevating the home and rebuilding a more flood-resistant home, with grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000.
• Ratings: A flood expert offers advice on how to improve a home’s ability to withstand flooding.

The NSW Rebuilding Authority carried out flood mapping to determine eligibility for each type of assistance.

The program will take individual circumstances into account and seek to prioritize vulnerable residents.

Rebuilding Authority CEO Mal Lanyon said homes most at risk of significant damage and loss of life in future flooding have been identified for voluntary buybacks.

“Where flood mapping, where experts, where local knowledge and where previous flood studies have indicated that people are most at risk, we want to provide the best opportunity for those people,” he said.

Homeowners who do not accept a buyback would not be eligible for other help.

Scheme “too late” for some

Laurie Jones lives on the banks of Mandagery Creek and his home has been identified as eligible for redemption.

His insurance didn’t cover stormwater, so he repaired his house out of his own pocket and some government grant money after 1,200mm of water came through his house.

Mr Jones, who was born and raised in Eugowra, said he would not accept a ransom unless it allowed him to stay in his community.

“It depends on how much money they offer in a buyout — will they give me enough to buy another house?” he said.

Pat and Leanne Jones’ Eugowra home has been slated for the flood of resilience measures – yet their rebuilt home is almost ready for them to move back into.

“We’ll go through the application and have a look at it, but now that we’ve got (the house) back up we might not want to go that route because it took a lot of money to fix it up. said Pat Jones.

The community group is seeking more funding

Eugowra Progress Association president Sean Haynes said $40 million for the program was a start, but communities in the Central West would need more funding.

“We have continued to argue that the community needs more assurance that there is more funding out there,” he said.

“From the initial interest in the program, we imagined that it was not enough.

“That $40 million is spread across four local government areas.”

Federal Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister and NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said they would assess demand for the program before committing additional funding.

Applications for the program open on Monday.