Kempsey CBD is back in operation following the recent flood conditions, thanks to Fire and Rescue, the RFS and a ‘super pump’.
Fire and Rescue pumped out the centre of town. Various pumps were used to attempt to clear the floodwater from Belgrave Street, with no great success, so the Fire and Rescue team employed the use of the super pump: the Bulk Water Transfer System ‘Hytrans’.
The Hytrans moved roughly 6,000L of water a minute and was crewed by two specialists assisted by the local FRNSW crew, 345 Kempsey. There is only one pump of this capacity in NSW and it was brought in by Fire and Rescue and used on Belgrave Street, with near instant, incredible impact.
When the pump was turned off in the centre of Kempsey at 3pm on Saturday 27 March, it was estimated that the total amount of water removed was ten million litres.
The HYTRANS was then moved about 1km up the road to pump out a section of water in another area of Kempsey. There they had to run 500m of 150mm hose to send the water back to the Macleay River. Another large amount of water was removed from Kempsey, almost another ten million litres.
Fire and Rescue were also busy in the outer areas. Two Rapid Damage Assessment teams were assigned to the problem areas of Stuarts Point and Maria River Road. Another crew went to Frederickton.
