Not the time for 'penny pinching', insurers urged to support Illawarra flood victims

People are still counting the financial and emotional toll after their homes, businesses and vehicles were inundated by floodwaters on Saturday, April 6.

"To insurers right across the board, now is not the time to be penny pinching, people have paid their premiums for a reason," Minister for the Illawarra and South Coast Ryan Park said at the SES' Wollongong headquarters on Monday, April 8.

"This is the time that people expect their goods to be reimbursed, their infrastructure to be paid, if they have that insurance coverage."

For many people, the weekend's weather event brought back memories of the 1998 floods, when a whopping 375 millimetres of rain fell in Wollongong on August 16-17. Some suburbs reported 400mm-plus.

Back then, insurers rejected many claims stating damage was caused by flooding not storms and residents launched a class action.

This should not be repeated, Mr Ryan warned.

"We expect as a community, people who are insured to be paid and paid quickly," he said of the weekend's flood damage.

"We want claims settled, we want funds transferred, we want people to be able to be able to get back on their feet."

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Saturday's wet weather may have been predicted, but the floodwaters rose much quicker than many people anticipated, Mr Ryan said.

During a 24-hour period, Wattamolla received 257mm of rain, with 250mm at Lake Illawarra, 240mm at Mount Pleasant, and 231 at Wollongong

The Illawarra was among the hardest hit areas in NSW, SES Commissioner Carlene York said, and volunteers received more than 800 calls for help, including 81 flood rescues.

Cars suddenly became dangerous floating hazards, an Airbnb cabin was washed away off its footings with people inside, roads washed away and many are still cleaning mud-soaked items out of their homes and businesses.

"There were devastating scenes, people certainly didn't expect the water to come as quickly and as high as it did," Mr Ryan said.

Emergency funds are available for Illawarra flooding victims, with free household clean-up on offer for flood-affected Wollongong residents.

For assistance cleaning up from the floods call the SES on 132 500.

Mr Park urged anyone affected by the floods not to sit in silence and suffer.

"You have local councillors, you have elected local members, please reach out to those people if you are having trouble," he said.

There will be a review process on government floods plans and where houses are built, following the weekend's floods, Mr Park said.

"There will be time to assess where properties are built in the future, what planning challenges we may have to face," Mr Ryan said.

The MP said geography does play a big part on water movement during weather events.

"We literally live between the Escarpment and the sea, which means water moves very, very quickly off the mountain through highly populated areas," he said.

"We love where we live for a reason, but it's a challenge when it comes to large rain events. You can't just ask people to move properties which have been in there for many, many decades.

"It's really distressing over the weekend to see people refer back to those '98 floods and those of us who were here at the time have that seared into their memories."