“People are panicking”: SES boat stolen in Menindee as floodwaters approach

Community members in Menindee are “panicking” as the town prepares for its biggest floods since 2011.

A boat has been stolen from a NSW State Emergency Service shed in Menindee as floodwaters approach the town. Photo: Barrier Police District

A State Emergency Service rescue boat that had been the subject of a community’s fight for better flood protection has been stolen from a locked shed as floodwaters approach the remote NSW township of Menindee.

Community members in Menindee on the Darling River last week called for the NSW State Emergency Service to provide them access to two flood boats and a sandbagging machine they said they needed to prepare the town for flooding.

The equipment was stored in a locked shed in the town and a NSW SES spokesman said only trained and registered volunteers could access it.

Menindee resident Graeme McCrabb called on the SES at the time to share access to the equipment with other services like the Rural Fire Service.

“We’ve got equipment that can’t be accessed by volunteers in a town to help prepare themselves and look after themselves in the event of flood or disaster,” he said.

Tensions between community members and the SES in Menindee have been simmering since eight local SES volunteers, including Mr McCrabb, quit the organisation earlier this year, claiming it did not provide them with adequate training.

According to Barrier District Police, more than one person cut fences and a padlock to gain access to the SES shed in Menindee some time between late November and December 11, stealing one boat and a boat trailer.

Police called on anyone with information about the boat to contact Crime Stoppers.

SES western zone public information officer Daivd Rankine said the organisation was resupplying Menindee with additional boats after the theft.

“It’s disappointing that someone has decided to take an important resource (used) to protect the community,” he said.

Mr Rankine said SES staff had arrived in Menindee on December 11 to undertake flood mapping and planning ahead of an expected flood peak in mid-January.

SES staff and volunteers were expected to remain in the town into the new year, Mr Rankine said.

Mr McCrabb said until Thursday the Menindee community had been preparing for the floodwater on its own and community members were anxious.

He said the town hadn’t had this much water coming towards it since 2011, and many residents in the town and along the Darling River were expecting to be inundated.

“The community here started shifting dirt two weeks ago to fix levees,” he said. “They’re organising it themselves. There’s been no co-ordination (from government organisations).”

“People are panicking. They can’t do much more than what they’ve got. Their levees might save them from a 21GL (flow) but if it gets to 27GL, they’ll go underwater”, he said.

Even without further rainfall, up to 2200 GL of water – more than four times the volume of Sydney Harbour – was expected to arrive in Menindee Lakes by the end of February.
Releases from the lakes are expected to rise to 25GL a day by early January, according to the latest data from WaterNSW.

Originally published as “People are panicking”: SES boat stolen in Menindee as floodwaters approach