MORE than $6 million will be spent on improving levee bank management along the River Murray and the Gawler River catchment, under Disaster Ready funding announced by the federal and state government.
Levee bank management ahead of, and during, flooding along the River Murray was a bone of contention for some landholders with government-owned levees.
Other projects to be funded - largely under 50/50 federal/state arrangements - include $1.26m for improved flood estimation for risk mitigation across SA, $1.14m for climate hazard forecasting and risk across SA's agricultural zones, and $130,000 towards "protecting SA's food bowl for the future", a Northern Adelaide Plains initiative.
There will also be $3.6m for SA's Bushfire Management Planning and Reporting System, and $840,000 for bushfire preparedness initiatives in the Limestone Coast.
In total, 23 SA projects will benefit from close to $47m in disaster prevention funding.
Federal Agriculture and Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said the funding was representative of the government's commitment to disaster reduction and mitigation.
"South Australia has experienced a number of devastating floods, storms and bushfires over recent years, including earlier this year," he said.
"As we continue to fund disaster recovery and specific resilience programs in areas like the Riverland, it's critical we do more to build defences right across the state.
"As a country we invest far more in recovering from disasters than we do defending against them, and that mentality has got to change."
SA's Emergency Services Minister Joe Szakacs echoed Mr Watt's sentiments.
"As natural disasters are becoming more common, and more dangerous due to climate change, the need for communities to be adequately prepared has never been higher," he said.
"These grants demonstrate the solid commitment from federal and state to ensure that South Australia is better prepared for natural disasters, so we can respond and recover quicker."
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