NSW Is the Council Liable for Damages?

[Mrs M]

Hi!

Looking for a bit of help.

Last Thursday, my husband was driving home from work during horrendous weather, with a number of roads being closed. He was turned around by police/emergency services and told to take xx Road as it was still open.

He did this, but upon getting partway down the road found it flooded so he turned around to go back the way he'd come. The banks of the creek adjacent to this road broke while he was turning around and he was caught in a flash flood.

This road is known to flood every time we get even a little rain (hubby is not a local and has never spent any time in this part of the area so he had no idea) and the other end of the road had been closed already. The council at no point advised the police, RMS or other emergency services that the road was closed.

My question is, is council liable for the damage and loss we have suffered as a result of both ends of the road not being closed and relevant emergency services not being notified (thus they wouldn't have sent hubby down that road)?

I know that emergency services weren't notified as even 3 hours after hubby was rescued from the vehicle live traffic did not show the road as closed and the local police knew nothing about the road having been flooded or closed.

 

[Lance]

Hi Mrs M,

I don't like your chances. I used to be the Pilbara Region Safety Manager with Main Roads in WA. In emergency weather conditions its a made scramble by all services to try to keep people safe.

While the council was obviously taking charge of a number of areas I would have thought its actually under the remit of Roads and Maritime Services to coordinate road safety in this situation. I'm happy to be proven wrong because every State and Territory is different but I think it was just a not so well managed situation.

I'm really glad your husband was rescued and I hope the car is covered by insurance.