Flooding was too quick for sandbags in Seymour, inquiry hears

The speed of water flooding through Seymour was so rapid residents were only just considering sandbagging when the water came through their doors, a government inquiry has been told.

THURSDAY, IN SEYMOUR: The speed of water flooding through Seymour was so rapid residents were only just considering collecting sandbags when the water started coming through their doors, a government inquiry has been told.

Seymour was the first major town flooded during the 2022 disaster, when the Goulburn River rose to a height of 8.26m.

The water inundated more than 250 homes and businesses above the floor level.

Neil Beer, who owns a car dealership in Seymour, said he was facing a six figure sum if he wanted to be insured against anotherflood disaster.

His business had been offered flood insurance for $20,000, with an excess of $80,000.

“So it’s prohibitive,” he told the inquiry.

Jan and Neil Beer at the Flood Inquiry public hearing at Seymour, September 14, 2023. Picture: Julieanne Strachan

Mr Beer’s family had a number of commercial properties in town and three had been inundated.

He said there had been $5000 grants to help businesses recover but it had cost him $180,000 to get his business back up andrunning.

Neil Beer car dealership in Seymour was flooded in October 2022. Picture: Supplied.

Wattle Motel owner Shelley Hamilton said she asked her husband to inform guests that there could be water while she went toget sandbags.

“We had the SES knock on the door and tell us that sometime during the evening the water will rise,” Ms Hamilton said.

“I said to my husband ‘I will get some sandbags’ but 10 minutes later I heard my daughter screaming.

“The water was already in our house and she had been trying to keep it out with towels.”

Shelley Hamilton, owner of the Wattle Motel at Emily St, Seymour, which was flooded in 2022. She spoke at the inquiry hearing. Picture: Julieanne Strachan

Ms Hamilton was part of the team from the Go Seymour tourism and business group to give evidence to the inquiry.

Victorian Farmers Federation representatives told the committee about the personal experiences of farmers who woke up to find their properties underwater, after the water rose up during the night.

Richard Stetcher said he lost $2.4m wheat, barley and canola in crops during the disaster.

“The crops could only be insured for hail or fire,” he told the inquiry.

VFF president Emma Germano said that despite the devastating impact on farmers many felt they had been largely overlooked and more attention focused on homes surrounding the Flemington racetrack.

Mr Beer said that on the day the flood began the water had risen rapidly and he had called the ICC to report it but the responsewas sluggish.

“There was virtually no response coming back from the ICC,” he said.

Mr Beer, who had been a CFA volunteer for 45 years, said he was worried there would not be enough volunteers in the area tohelp in future disasters.

He fought the Black Saturday fires and previously appeared before the Royal Commission into that disaster.

“We were acting on our own. If they (the ICC) had made us a division I would have told them that the (emergency warning system)should be triggered.

“I’m not saying anything against the SES but they were completely over burdened.”

“I have never seen water of that depth and speed come through the river system,” Mr Beer said.

WEDNESDAY, IN SHEPPARTON: A NSW-style buyback scheme for the most vulnerable housing in Shepparton has been proposed by a local council to a parliamentary inquiry.

The council said about 80 properties had been totally or partially destroyed and a further 140 properties were “known to be non-functioning”.

The inquiry into the 2022 flood event is holding a public hearing at Mooroopna today to hear from community leaders, farmers and dairy industry figures.

Murray Dairy chief executive Jenny Wilson said the October disaster had caused significant losses to the dairy industry.

“There was a five per cent drop in annual production caused by the wet conditions and flooding,” she said.

“About two per cent of milk production had to be dumped over that period of time.”

Ms Wilson said electricity at the Mooroopna substation went out, jeopardising about one million litres of milk that had been held in storage at a regional processing plant.

“It was five days before enough power was restored to process that milk and it was downgraded in terms of value and was only 24 hours away from having to be completely dumped,” she said.

“This region is critical in terms of agricultural food manufacturing and not just for the local area but in terms of national production.”

Ms Wilson fronted the inquiry with members of the Committee for Greater Shepparton,
the local Lighthouse Foundation and Valley Pack cold storage which transports chilled foods.

Taylor Hall, Amy Robinson, Lindy Nieuwenhuzen, Jenny Wilson, Jane Macey and Leigh Findlay appeared together at the parliamentary inquiry into the 2022 floods, hearing at Mooroopna on September 13, 2023. Picture: Julieanne Strachan

The representatives for the group said they supported Greater Shepparton City Council’s call for a second crossing over the Goulburn River to be built so the region would be less vulnerable in future disasters.

“During the flood event the only existing Goulburn River crossing option along the Midland Highway was the causeway between Mooroopna and Shepparton (that takes over 30,000 vehicles per day),” the council said in its submission to the inquiry.

“It (the causeway) was inundated with water leading to a multi-day closure, effectively severing access between Shepparton and Mooroopna.

“A further opportunity exists to build the resilience of the Greater Shepparton community to future floods through the implementation of a Government buyback scheme of some of our most vulnerable properties, under the type of scheme developed for the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.”

Ms Wilson said a second river crossing could not be overstated.

“A second river crossing is essential,” she said.

“Even now, if there is an accident on that causeway there is no way for people to get from east to west.”

The inquiry will continues.