Today Show reporter catches ‘sickening’ act in Victorian floods

An Australian weather presenter has caught looters allegedly taking advantage of flood victims in Melbourne.

2 min read

October 17, 2022 - 1:17PM

An Australian weather presenter has described the “sickening” moment he witnessed three men looting houses in Melbourne, which residents had fled during the floods.

Tim Davies arrived in Maribyrnong, northwest of the CBD, to film live coverage on Monday morning when he saw the men “obviously up to no good”.

It is alleged they fled Burton Crescent when they saw the cameras.

“I just knew straight away something wasn’t quite right with these guys and they had their faces covered with Covid masks and hoodies on,” Davies told Today.

“As soon as we arrived with crew, we had a number of cars turning up, these guys were in a real hurry to get out of there.

“As I got out of the car I saw one of these guys fly out of one of the homes behind me … these guys got out of here quick sticks because they knew we were media.”

"I knew something wasn't quite right with these guys, they had faces covered with COVID masks and hoodies on."

Tim was setting up for a live cross when he said he saw a group of masked men come rushing out of a residence in a flooded Melbourne community.#9Today pic.twitter.com/oIXUe0JM0Q
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) October 16, 2022

The suburb is currently in the thick of its clean-up after homes were inundated with water. People’s belongings can be seen scattered along the street.

“It’s just a sickening sight to see people here doing that sort of thing here in the streets of Melbourne this morning with these residents already going through so much,” Davies said, adding he had contacted police.

Victoria Police confirmed to news.com.au it was investigating and said it is believed a man dressed in high-vis clothing, a beanie and face-covering “stole several personal items” from an unoccupied home while another two men stayed in a blue Ford Territory out the front.

“Police are providing active patrols in the area,” a statement said.

“Anyone who witnessed the incident or with dashcam or CCTV footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.”

People clear mud from a property damaged by floods in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong on October 15. Picture: William West / AFP

The Victorian Government said on Sunday Melbourne Water would conduct a review into the 3m floodwater wall around Flemington Racecourse, with residents claiming it managed to avoid severe flooding because the wall pushed water into the surrounding Maribyrnong area.

Flemington Racecourse was protected from the floods by a 3m wall. Picture: David Caird

Racing Victoria chief executive Andrew Jones told Nine over the weekend the wall had created “unintended consequences”.

“The VRC took steps to flood-protect its property 15 years ago, which it’s entitled to do. That’s obviously had unintended consequences for neighbouring residents,” he said.

“Obviously there was no intention of the VRC to cause harm. They tried to protect the spring carnival and the Melbourne Cup Carnival, which is a massively important part of Victorian life and the Victorian economy, so I think this is an unintended consequence.”

Aerial photos of flood waters inundating homes and streets by the Maribyrnong River. Picture: David Caird

While other areas start the clean up process following last week’s monster deluge, more than 7000 homes and businesses in Victoria’s north are at risk of flooding on Monday.

Victoria SES has issued more than 60 flood warnings across the state, more than 100 Australian Defence Force personnel have been deployed, while around 120 schools and 100 early learning centres are closed on Monday.

The state and federal government have prepared the former Covid quarantine hub in Mickleham to provide crisis accommodation for flood victims.

The $580 million centre was closed last week after housing 2168 guests.