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Residents of a small town isolated by a landslide that destroyed the only road in and out have received emergency supplies via airdrops.
The Rural Fire Service provided food, fuel and essential supplies to more than 200 stranded residents in the Megalong Valley, located west of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains.
Heavy rain on Friday destroyed Megalong Road, the only road connecting the city, when the ground beneath it collapsed.
The only sealed road in or out of the city, Megalong Road, was badly damaged after the deluge caused a landslide on Saturday (pictured).
The Rural Fire Service has airdropped essential supplies (pictured) to residents of the Megalong Valley in the Blue Mountains who were left isolated after the only road out of the town was damaged.
About 200 residents and visitors managed to evacuate through private property on Sunday night, helped by an excavator that cleared the way.
Despite concerns about the impact on local businesses in the resort town, the community is coming together to provide support and assistance.
Supplies are currently being distributed at Megalong Tearooms.
Manager Dice O’Neill said the tea rooms have been transformed into a central community center since the landslide.
“This is sort of a place where people can come and have a cuppa, have a bit of a chat with everyone, get a sense of normality and also find out what’s going on,” he told WhatsNew2Day Australia.
‘We just have the community coming in and taking what they need when they need it, and everyone’s been pretty good about it.
Residents could see the construction of a new temporary road within days.
The community has come together to support each other during the trying time (pictured, residents unpacking the airdrop)
Megalong Valley Tea Rooms have become “a community hub of sorts” as the variety of air-dropped items and food items were delivered to the cafe for residents to take away (pictured)
“This could involve cutting through the rock wall to create a single lane or building a bridge over the landslide that will support trucks,” explained Mark Greenhill, mayor of Blue Mountains Council.
“It will take three to four days to do it, it’s a lot of work, but our teams are ready to go.” We’re just waiting for approval from the geotechnicians, we want it to be safe.’
Greenhill estimates it could take three to four months to repair the landslide on Megalong Road, restoring the road to its usual condition.
However, a long-term solution would involve building an additional route to ensure the city is not isolated during a natural disaster.
“That is a much bigger project for our small council, and we would need to collaborate with colleagues at higher levels of government,” Mr Greenhill said.
