Residents of a small town cut off 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 over 200 residents stranded in Megalong Valley, located west of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains.
The heavy rainfall on Friday destroyed Megalong Road, the only route connecting the town, as the ground beneath it collapsed.
The only sealed road in or out of town, Megalong Road, was severely damaged after the deluge sparked a landslip on Saturday (pictured)
The Rural Fire Service have airdropped essential supplies (pictured) to residents of Megalong Valley, in the Blue Mountains, who are cut off after the only road out of town was damaged
About 200 residents and visitors managed to evacuate through a private property on Sunday night, aided by a bulldozer that cleared a path.
Despite worries about the impact on local businesses in the tourist town, the community is rallying together to provide support and assistance.
Supplies are currently being distributed at the Megalong Tearooms.
Manager Dice O’Neill said that the tearooms have transformed into a central community hub since the landslip.
‘This is sort of a place where people can come and grab a cup, have a bit of a yarn with everybody, get a sense of normalcy and also find out what’s happening,’ she told Daily Mail .
‘We’ve just got the community coming in and grabbing what they need when they need it, and everyone’s been pretty good about it.
Residents could potentially see the construction of a temporary new road within a matter of days.
The community have banded together to support one another during the testing time (pictured, residents unpacking the airdrop)
Megalong Valley Tea Rooms has become ‘a bit of a community hub’ as the variety of airdropped items and foods were delivered to the cafe for residents to take (pictured)
‘This could either be slicing through the rockface for a single lane or a bridge being built over the landslip which will support trucks,’ explained Mark Greenhill, the mayor of Blue Mountains City Council.
‘It will take about three to four days to do, it’s a lot of work but our teams are ready to go. We’re just waiting for approval from the geo-technicians, we want it to be done safety.’
Mr Greenhill estimates that repairing the landslip on Megalong Road could take between three to four months, restoring the road to its usual condition.
However, a long-term solution would involve constructing an additional route to ensure that the town is not cut off during a natural disaster.
‘That’s a much bigger project for our small council, and we would have to engage with colleagues in higher government,’ Mr Greenhill said.
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