Echuca’s makeshift levee holds against highest flood levels in over a century

A makeshift levee has saved most of Echuca from the Murray’s highest flood levels in more than a century but left scores of homes on the wrong side of the hastily built earthen wall inundated by the swollen river.

Authorities said they believed the river had peaked at 94.9 metres on Monday morning in the northern Victorian border town after rising about six centimetres following heavy rainfall overnight.

Graham Baldwin is living in calf-high water through his house in Echuca East. Credit: Jason South

“It’s intended to stay steady at that level for several days before we’ll start to see it receding in and around Echuca,” State Emergency Service chief officer of operations Tim Wiebusch said.

On Monday the Murray rose to its highest level at Echuca since 1916 when it reached 95.28 metres Australian Height Datum, or above sea level. It was 94.77 metres in the floods of 1993, and the worst flood recorded in the town was 96.20 metres in 1870.

Echuca has been on tenterhooks for just over a week after an evacuation order was issued first because of flooding from the Campaspe River and then the Murray.

The 2½ kilometre levee, which residents and Australian Defence Force members started building on the northern edge of the town a week ago, held strong, but there was little sense of relief beyond its banks on Monday.

The 71-year-old’s house is about 300 metres from the end of the levee and was not spared the floodwater.Credit: Jason South

Graham Baldwin was watching a movie in calf-deep water in his home on Bryant Street, about 300 metres from the end of the levee. The 71-year-old was one of several residents outside the levee who said they were left to fend for themselves after the evacuation order.

“I haven’t seen the coppers, and I haven’t seen anybody – not even the SES,” he said. “I remember in [the 1993 floods], the SES were towing boats around with sandbags. I haven’t seen that this time, it’s just been me and my young brother battling away.”

Nearby, Goulburn Road was under about half a metre of water, but seven homes appeared to have been saved from flooding after a round-the-clock effort by residents to ferry in sandbags and build and maintain walls around their properties.

Mark Lia led that fight for up to 20 hours a day, driving his truck back and forth through the floodwaters with supplies. Neighbours credit Lia for their dry homes.

Mark Lia has been credited with saving seven homes in Echuca East.Credit: Jason South

“I’ve actually saved Mark’s phone number in my phone as ‘Mark the hero’,” said Elisha Johnson, who has been coordinating the defence of her aunt Robyn’s home.

Natalie Murphy, whose father lives next door to Lia, said any houses on the street that were saved were because of Lia, “wholly and solely because we’re not getting any help out here”.

Lia said his neighbours were upset that the levee redirected water towards them while authorities did not offer any assistance to defend their homes.

“We understand if they need to sacrifice us to save them, that’s OK,” he said. “But the thing is, there’s no problem on their side. When they’re not using their equipment, why aren’t they at least letting us use their pumps?”

Flood warnings remain across the state

Much of Victoria will remain on flood watch this week as a tropical air mass travelling south from Queensland and a low-pressure system coming in from NSW bring heavy falls and thunderstorms to parts of the state.

Falls of up to 60 millimetres could drench the Otways and northern Victoria in the coming days, bringing flash flooding to local communities.

Towns in Gippsland, which have so far been spared the bulk of the flooding, could also experience significant rainfall.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s senior meteorologist, Kevin Parkyn, said Victoria was on track to experience its wettest October on record, with widespread rainfall forecast to continue over the weekend.

“It looks like it will put further pressure on our river systems ... for some weeks to come,” Parkyn said.

Communities on the Murray River from Swan Hill through to Robinvale and Mildura should start making preparations for potential flooding, he said.

The north-western town of Swan Hill is expected to be flooded in the first week of November.

The surges will then move downstream to Robinvale and Mildura, causing minor flooding by mid-next month.

“The good news for communities on the Goulburn River, from Murchison through to Shepparton and the communities downstream of Rochester and the like, is that at this stage we’re only looking at moderate flooding levels,” Wiebusch said.

Wiebusch said the volunteer clean-up effort, which until recently had focused on Maribyrnong in metropolitan Melbourne, would now shift to the devastated towns of Rochester and Mooroopna.

The SES said it received eight calls for assistance in the 12 hours to 7am, mostly for water entering people homes and fallen trees. Across the state, the SES has received more than 8500 calls for help and performed 750 rescues over the past 10 days.

With Caroline Schelle and Hanna Mills Turbet

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