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Flood fury: The Maribyrnong River disaster
Investigation

Flood fury: The Maribyrnong River disaster

In this series of articles, The Age delves into the failings surrounding the Maribyrnong River October 2022 flood and Melbourne Water inquiry.

18 stories
The Age has once again scooped the pool at the annual Melbourne Press Club Quill Awards for Excellence in Victorian Journalism. Read the stories and see the images and projects that have been recognised at this year’s Quills.See all 22 items.
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Flemington wall worsened Maribyrnong flooding – but it won’t be torn down

The wall raised water levels for at least 240 homes in Maribyrnong during 2022’s downpour, including some homes that likely would have avoided inundation if it had not been built.

  • by Sophie Aubrey
Paul Lau with daughter Stephanie in their flood-damaged Maribyrnong home. The blue line shows where floodwaters rose to in the house, which remains unrepaired.
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Maribyrnong dam ruled out, but flooded residents ask at what cost?

A report into last year’s Maribyrnong River floods says a dam proposed for many years in Keilor should be abandoned, as residents warn doing nothing leaves them exposed.

  • by Clay Lucas
Lee Lanzafame at his Maribyrnong home. One year on from the floods, the ground level is still not repaired.

Maribyrnong flood forecasting, early warnings must be improved: Report

Property buybacks could also be needed in flood-prone areas along the Maribyrnong River, but the jury is still out on the Flemington flood wall.

  • by Clay Lucas and Benjamin Preiss
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John Guegan and Madeleine Serle, whose homes were flooded last October, next to the Maribyrnong River on Friday.

The Maribyrnong River flood warnings that receded, then went unheeded

With the anniversary of last October’s Maribyrnong flood approaching, residents are ratcheting up pressure on authorities to better prepare for the next deluge.

  • by Clay Lucas
The flooding at Rivervue Retirement Village last October.
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Flooded retirement home built a metre too low after Melbourne Water rule change

The removal of flood rules around a section of the Maribyrnong River that discouraged building on the land allowed waters to hit the Avondale Heights retirement village.

  • by Clay Lucas
The flooding at Rivervue Retirement Village last October.
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Flooded retirement home built a metre too low after Melbourne Water rule change

The removal of flood rules around a section of the Maribyrnong River that discouraged building on the land allowed waters to hit the Avondale Heights retirement village.

  • by Clay Lucas
Rivervue new development plans

‘Very premature’: Plea to block more homes at flooded retiree village

Residents at a retirement village in the centre of a political storm are calling for the government to step in to block the new development plans.

  • by Clay Lucas and Sophie Aubrey
Melbourne Water’s flood inquiry became trouble-plagued this year.
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Emails reveal Melbourne Water ignored conflict advice before flood inquiry scandal

The emails also show the state government has been involved with Melbourne Water’s response from behind the scenes, despite repeatedly insisting the flood inquiry is independent.

  • by Sophie Aubrey and Clay Lucas
Rae and Colin Waters have not been able to return home since the October flood.

How a late planning switch led to retiree homes being built on a former floodplain

Elderly residents left homeless by the Maribyrnong River flood have learnt for the first time that a controversial planning change was originally meant to be dramatically stricter.

  • by Sophie Aubrey
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Madeleine Serle’s house in Maribyrnong is still in disrepair.

Melbourne Water review a waste of time, says resident displaced by 2022 floods

Decades-old flood modelling will be upgraded after Melbourne Water failed to predict a major deluge, while Victoria Racing Club’s submission about the Flemington Racecourse flood wall is invoking disappointment.

  • by Sophie Aubrey, Chip Le Grand and Clay Lucas
Aftershock PC co-owner Richard Noble pictured in October  after the flood with a pile of damaged stock.
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Five months ago, they were promised support. But flood-stricken businesses are still waiting

Frustrated Victorian business owners hit by last October’s devastating floods are still without financial support announced more than five months ago by the premier and prime minister.

  • by Sophie Aubrey and Clay Lucas
Composite image of Denise Jury walking past the flood wall in Kensington and the map of the flood mitigation works in the area.
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Metro Tunnel among projects that may have exacerbated flood

The Metro Tunnel in Kensington is protected by a flood wall large enough to withstand a one-in-1000-year deluge. It’s just one of the projects built on flood-prone land along the Maribyrnong River.

  • by Sophie Aubrey and Clay Lucas
The clean up in Maribyrnong.

Fresh flood inquiry after Coalition, crossbench flex muscle

The new review of the October 2022 floods will now encompass government decisions as well as rivers across the state, not just the Maribyrnong.

  • by Rachel Eddie and Broede Carmody
Units at the Mickleham quarantine centre.
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Flood victims booted out of Mickleham centre ahead of its closure

After being rattled by weeks of rumours, residents found a letter under the doors of their rooms on Wednesday advising that they would need to leave the centre “as soon as possible”.

  • by Sophie Aubrey
Flood feature homepage index by Jamie Brown

Flood and fury: How the west was let down

Since 1974, the Maribyrnong community has fought for action to protect their homes. Nothing happened – save for one large wall to protect Flemington racecourse.

  • by Clay Lucas and Sophie Aubrey
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Maribyrnong inquiry chair backed flood rules removal – then the waters hit

The expert appointed to run an inquiry into October’s Maribyrnong River flood is facing calls to resign over his role in supporting planning changes that led to a riverside development’s expansion.

  • by Sophie Aubrey and Clay Lucas
Maribyrnong river GIF
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Floods inquiry chair quits over role in swamped retirement village

The head of the Maribyrnong River flood inquiry has quit after The Age revealed his previous role in supporting planning changes that led to development near the river.

  • by Sophie Aubrey and Clay Lucas
NEWS October 14, 2022. An aerial view of the Maribyrnong flood waters beginning to slowly recede. Credit: Nine News
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Flood alert system failed, leaving Maribyrnong residents to flee rising water

Melbourne Water’s new alert system was supposed to give early warning of impending danger but did not give Melburnians much chance to escape a disastrous flood.

  • by Clay Lucas and Sophie Aubrey

Original URL: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/victoria/flood-fury-the-maribyrnong-river-disaster-20230518-p5d9az.html