Wild weather: Victorian towns face nervous flood wait
PREMIER Daniel Andrews says dramatic weather warnings issued to Victorians last week were appropriate with the rain bringing Melbourne’s wettest day in 25 years. The Victorian Farmers Federation says the flood is a disaster for farmers.
VIC News
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PREMIER Daniel Andrews says dramatic weather warnings issued to Victorians last week were appropriate with the rain bringing Melbourne’s wettest day in 25 years.
More 70 homes have been affected by flooding, with a number of warnings remaining in place.
Wangaratta residents are being told to stay alert with levels in the Ovens and King rivers expected to peak later this evening.
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There are concerns for about 20 homes in the northeast Victorian town.
Between Saturday and Sunday morning Melbourne had its wettest 24 hours since 1992 with nearly 44mm falling.
Mr Andrews rejected criticism that the warnings issued were too dramatic.
“Ultimately the Bureau, emergency services...myself included, we have been very clear to the Victorian community that 200-250mm of rain would fall, that’s exactly what happened,” he said.
Mr Andrews said the warnings were crucial for people in the flooded town of Myrtleford, about 300km northeast of Melbourne, where he visited SES volunteers.
“We had the predicted rainfall, it’s panned out better than we had hoped,” he said.
“Everyone has prepared, everyone has pitched in.
“You don’t need me to tell people in Myrtleford about floods, they know not to be making light of warnings.”
Keith O’Brien, assistant chief officer of the SES said only a few people were evacuated from homes in the region.
In nearby Wangaratta, Painters Island Caravan Park was evacuated last night as the threat of flooding was deemed too high.
Peter Crotty of the Wangaratta Caravan and Tourist Park said some of the evacuated residents came to his caravan park.
“There are a number of people who have avoided the area altogether because of the weather however, so we’ve had a massive drop in business because of the flood warnings and the events that have been subsequently cancelled,” he said.
“We certainly had a lot of rain.
“There’s been a lot of sandbagging going on and people shifting their vehicles to stay safe in Wangaratta.”
Steve Mooney who leases and maintains a beef farming property at Everton said there was some damage caused.
“This time of the year, this weather and flooding isn’t normal,” he said.
“It will spoil some of the feed and we’ll have to fix some of the fences.
“Some of the water will still be on its way, so we’re just monitoring it as it comes.
“We’ve only had one other flood this year so far, we’ve been lucky.”
Mr Mooney fears the flood will attract brown snakes which may bite his animals.
The Victorian Farmers Federation warns the flood will be disastrous for farmers.
“It affects farmers across Victoria from Swan Hill to Shepparton...there’s no real hot spot as such but there isn’t anyone who won’t be impacted,” Victorian Farmers Federation’s David Jochinke said.
“It’s not a total write off but it is disastrous for farmers.”
MELBOURNE’S WETTEST DAY SINCE 1992
The Bureau of Meterology said Melbourne had recorded the highest rainfall in 24 hours since 1992.
Some parts of the city recorded close to 100mm.
“It was certainly a wet day out in the eastern suburbs, with rainfall over the last couple of days in excess of 100mm with lots of flash flooding and rises in river systems,” senior forecaster Kevin Parkin said.
Clayton South recorded the highest rain in the city with 71mm, while the Dandenong Ranges had 90mm.
Outside of Melbourne the most rain was recorded in Mt St Leonard near Kinglake with 228mm of rain.
Strathbogie with 221 mm and Sevens Creek had 200mm, which resulted in early evacuations were also drenched.
Rainy conditions are expected to persist in the coming week with the risk of minor flooding in some areas.
Flooding at the upper end of the Yarra was also still possible.
Emergency Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said it had been a significant event for the state and revealed several drivers had “disappointingly” ignored warnings and entered flood waters and needed assistance.
One of those was in Williamstown where a young man was rescued from floodwaters in after becoming trapped in his car attempting to cross a creek.
Emergency services were called Racecourse Rd, Williamstown about 7.45am after reports a male driver was struck on a section of road that passes over the Kororoit Creek and is currently partially flooded.
The man was driving along the edge of the water until his car stalled and he lost control, sliding to the edge of the ramp and becoming stuck as he tried to restart it.
Authorities were able to rescue the man from the moving waters within 30 minutes and he was assessed by paramedics on the scene.
Photos of a pricey Maserati, which was submerged under a Footscray bridge, went viral last night. The driver had attempted to drive under a rail overpass.
The Hume Highway has been reopened.
Mr Lapsley denied authorities had overreacted with the rain prediction being accurate despite not falling in inner urban areas.
More than 2500 calls for help were received from across the state with 900 made from 4pm yesterday, when the water hit Melbourne.
An elderly couple were among four groups of people who had to be rescued when their vehicles became trapped in floodwaters, despite repeated warnings from authorities not to drive through floodwater.
Motorists were also warned to be mindful of debris on the roads as they were yet to clear up rockslides near Lake Eildon and Halls Gap.
The government last night offered emergency financial relief to people who had been forced to leave their homes because of the storm.
Up to $540 for each adult and $270 for each child — a maximum of $1890 a household — is available to affected families.
SMS FIRES OFF FLOOD WARNINGS
Rebekah Cavanagh
ADVANCED technology was used statewide for the first time to alert millions of Victorians in the firing line of the super storm.
Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Craig Lapsley yesterday praised the mass deployment of the emergency text alert system.
“For the first time in Victoria the telephone alerting system was used to put out a pre-emptive information message across those who were most likely to be impacted by this rain,” Mr Lapsley said.
“It was information, not a warning.
“We were very happy about that.”
About 7.4 million texts were sent to mobile phones across the state on Friday night, providing information to residents about the coming storm.
“Flooding is expected across Victoria this weekend. Heaviest rain on Saturday. Check on family and friends. Stay informed,” the message said, before providing a link to the Emergency Management Victoria website.
SMS alerts have been used in emergencies in the past, but never on such a scale.
In 2013, the Emergency Alert system was upgraded to allow location-based warnings to be broadcast.
Previously, warning messages could only be sent to a mobile phone’s registered service address.
This meant that visitors to the area could not receive the message.
The technology allows all active mobile phones in emergency areas to be alerted.
People can be tracked through the mobile phone tower their cells ping on.
NOTHING CAN RAIN ON THIS COUPLE’S PARADE
Jayitri Smiles and James Mottershead
IF rain really is good luck on your wedding day, then this couple picked the right date for their ceremony.
Leni and George Keramidas chose to carry on and tie the knot yesterday in Dixon’s Creek despite the forecast of torrential rain.
“I had a few calls from guests asking if the roads were going to be closed or if it was going to be too muddy and I just had no idea,” Mrs Keramidas said.
Mrs Keramidas said it was too much hassle to change the date of their wedding, which was also the christening of their eight-month-old son Michael.
“There was so much preparation and I just thought that nothing was going to stop us.”
The bride said she rushed around on Friday preparing gumboots and umbrellas for the day in anticipation of the weather.
Close to 100 people braved the inclement weather to celebrate the occasion at Mandala Wines.
The reception was held indoors where guests could take in the view of the vines from afar. Mrs Keramidas had two bridesmaid’s — step daughter Catherine, 9, and niece Eva, 12.
They proved that nothing could rain on their parade as they splashed around the winery in their gumboots.
While 70mm of rain was expected in the Yarra Valley on Saturday, the newlyweds and their guests stayed a little drier than expected as just over 40mm fell in the region.
A bit of rain and mud was never going to ruin the day for Mrs Keramidas, she said: “It’s a beautiful day because I married my best friend, so it has been perfect.”
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