Mildura SES provides an update as flood threat looms

From road closures to levees, the community of Mildura is preparing for imminent major flooding from next week. Read the latest.

The Mildura community is busy preparing the town for major flooding expected to inundate the town from early next week.

With river heights already exceeding moderate flood levels across the region, SES incident controller Russell Manning said key levees were being bolstered around the town as the levels were expected to breach the major flood level early next week.

“We’ve been doing a lot of work in the community consolidating levee banks.

“We’ve got one in Ranfurly Way. We started that about a week ago and it protects 60 houses and a number of sporting grounds,” he said, adding it was expected to be finished by Wednesday.

Mildura prepares for flooding by building levies all across town. Photos: Sam Dirkis

“There is another along Cureton Avenue — that’s also progressing well and we expect to finish that in the next two days … that protects a lot of residents and businesses on the east side of the CBD.”

There is also work being done by other agencies to protect the town, including Forest Fire Management Victoria, who has built a levee around a football field to protect properties and schools in Nangiloc.

Much of the work is adding height to existing levees that had not been maintained since they were built in the 50s, he explained.

Mildura is preparing for more flooding. Taken 22/11/2022

“We needed to do a lot of work. A lot of the levees were built in 1956 and some of them were in disrepair —particularly the Ranfurly Way one — so we need to reinstate a large section of that and also build a new section of the levee,” he explained.

It comes as the Murray River is likely to exceed the major flood level at Mildura early next week.

While the major flood level sits at 38.3 AHD, Mr Manning said it would be similar to the floods experienced in the 70s.

Some areas are already underwater, but the levels are expected to rise in coming days.

“It‘s around that 1973 flood mark, that’s sort of the closest comparison, we’ve had high rivers in the 90s but they were more high rivers, this a significant flood.”

As the emergency looms, Mr Manning urged curious locals not to drive around road closures or walk on levee banks.

“People are driving around road closures and walking on the levee banks as we’ve got machines constructing them … it’s a danger to themselves as well as the people doing the work.

Mildura prepares for flooding by building levies all across town.

“We know people are interested and it’s historic but those signs are in place for a reason.”

His final piece of advice was to make sure people were keeping up to date with all the warnings being put out by the SES.

“We've got a lot of people saying we didn’t get a warning, but we’ve got watch and acts in place,” he said.

“That's what those are for … get ready — if you need to organise your pets and get your medicines sorted then do that now.”