A locally assembled light flood rescue vehicle will help emergency services in Kiama respond to natural disasters.

As part of the NSW Government's fleet replacement program, State Emergency Service volunteers will have the latest, purpose-built equipment to keep communities safe.

Built locally at Alexander Perrie & Co at Port Kembla and designed with enhanced offroad capability, the 4WD vehicles have a custom-built body for flood rescue equipment, and integrated stowage for inflatable flood rescue rafts.

These vehicles are also being delivered to SES units in Sydney, Wyong, Tamworth, Ballina, Yamba, Orange and Forbes.

September to April is typically the time when the frequency of storms, strong winds and heavy rain increases, but August has already been wet for the South Coast, with Kiama experiencing its wettest winter on record with close to 600mm falling.

Moruya is also getting a high clearance vehicle to increase volunteers' ability to access isolated communities and perform critical rescues during flooding.

They are designed to operate in extreme off-road conditions and through floodwaters up to 1.2 metres deep, enabling SES crews to deliver essential supplies, complete rescues, and support other emergency services in remote and hard-to-reach locations.

The delivery of the new vehicles comes as South Coast and Illawarra emergency crews responded to more than 3,200 incidents in the past 12 months, an increase of 500 incidents from the previous year in what has been the busiest year for the region since 2022.

High clearance vehicles will be delivered across the state, including to areas recently impacted by flooding, such as Murwillumbah, Coffs Harbour and Taree.

Others will be operational throughout Ku-ring-gai, Broken Hill, Goulburn, Moruya, Forbes and Dubbo.

Minister for the Illawarra and the South Coast Ryan Park said this is an important investment that will make a real difference in keeping South Coast communities safe.

“It’s only right that our brave SES volunteers have the best equipment possible, made nearby in Port Kembla," he said.

“As the region continues to face more extreme weather events, making sure our front-line emergency services are prepared is essential.”

Newly elected state member for Kiama, Katelin McInerney, thanked the local SES volunteers for "their bravery and dedication to our community".

"They exemplify the very best of Kiama and what I love about this community so much," she said.

“Our community has faced repeated extreme weather events recently and this vital investment will boost our resilience to them, support our SES in doing their important, lifesaving work.

“I’m really thrilled to see this investment delivered and will continue to advocate to ensure we receive our fair share of extreme weather resilience and response support.”