Twelve months on from the devastating February floods, the Logan community’s flood defences have been fortified by a mobile sandbagging machine.
Bagger2 as it is known, will be used by Rotary Club of Beenleigh and local volunteers to bag up sand for locals during floods and extreme weather events.
A consortium of Bendigo Bank community branches including Beenleigh, Brown Plains, Loganholme and Springwood identified the need and made it happen in collaboration with Rotary Club of Beenleigh and Bendigo Bank’s charitable arm, the Community Enterprise Foundation.
The machine speeds up the sand bagging process and alleviates an otherwise strenuous task for volunteers. The machine can be easily transported which proves helpful if disaster strikes in surrounding regions.
Councillor Karen Murphy for Division 12, highlighted the importance of being prepared for possible future disasters.
“12 months on from the floods in Logan it’s important we prepare and strengthen the community for future events, and the mobile sand bagging machine will enable the community to quickly deploy volunteers to form our first line of defence.
“We are grateful our local Community Bank and the Foundation have identified this important unmet need and come on board to provide this vital funding,” Ms Murphy said.
Jason Luckhardt, Chair of the local Community Bank said the project has been made possible thanks to the community coming together.
“This project has been made possible by the community collaborating and working constructively together,” Mr Luckhardt said.
“The sandbagging machine project was completed in partnership with the Rotary Club of Beenleigh to assist volunteers defending our communities against future flood events.
“Our Community Bank is proud to be able to assist in in delivering this project and as part of the broader Bendigo Bank family, we have been able to secure the $37,000 funding from the Community Enterprise Foundation’s Flood Disaster Appeal,” Mr Luckhardt said.
Ms Hong, the president of the Rotary Club of Beenleigh was grateful for the donation, noting the impact of the generous donation and the progress that has been made twelve months on from the flooding across the district.
JPH Equipment Pty Ltd supplied the sandbagging machine and the company’s sales manager, Peter Hansen said he was pleasantly surprised to learn the local Community Bank network had agreed to arrange funding for the machine.
“As our community contribution we offered a discount on the price.
“I’m blown away by the generosity of the local Community Banks and know the new machine will make a real difference during the next flood event,” Mr Hansen said.