Victorian floods: Seymour, Yea residents evacuated after record rainfall
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan called her cabinet together on Monday night for an emergency meeting, as communities in central Victoria were forced to evacuate.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan called her cabinet together on Monday night for an emergency meeting to discuss the state’s growing flood crisis.
With communities in central Victoria forced to evacuate after floods inundated large areas, Ms Allan said her government was in the “emergency response phase of this weather event” as severe thunderstorms and heavy rain continued across the state.
Residents in Seymour and Yea, north of Melbourne, were told to “evacuate immediately” after the Goulburn River reached levels beyond those seen in the 1993 floods.
A relief centre was opened at Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre and Yea Shire Hall for those living, working and holidaying in the affected area.
A low pressure trough moving across Victoria dumped more than 90mm of rain over Bendigo and 38mm in Melbourne on Monday morning. Some towns such as Heathcote received four times their average January rainfall in a day.
Ms Allan said the next day would be crucial.
“We are still in the immediate emergency response phase of this weather event,” she said.
“As the weather starts to clear, as we get roads reopened and … the response teams can go in and do those important impact assessments. Town by town, house by house, looking at what the impact of the event has been on households, on businesses and community infrastructure and then provide support.”
Ms Allan said the cabinet meeting would also guide the government on what other supports would be activated for households particularly affected.
Other parts of the country were also feeling the impact of severe weather, with storms extending to parts of NSW, Queensland, South Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory.
Severe thunderstorm warnings in parts of NSW were in place on Monday as the Bureau of Meteorology warned residents in parts of the state’s Central West Slopes and Plains, Riverina and lower western districts to remain on high alert for potential flash-flooding.
Queensland was granted a reprieve from severe storms over the weekend but residents in the state’s southeast can expect heavy rainfall to lash parts over the next few days.
The storms come just a day after power was restored to all residents in the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim.
Despite thunderstorm and shower activity, the clean-up from Tropical Cyclone Jasper last month is expected to continue throughout the week.
As the rain continued in Victoria, a State Emergency Services spokesman said it had received 503 flood-related requests for assistance, and undertaken 38 swift water rescues on Sunday and Monday.
SES chief officer operation Tim Wiebusch reprimanded those who chose to drive through floodwaters amid widespread road closures. “It’s people taking their lives into their own hands and attempting to drive through flash-floodwaters,” Mr Wiebusch said. “We cannot emphasise enough, do not attempt to drive through flash-floodwaters. It could be the last decision you make.”
There have been 58 flood rescues across Victoria since the new year, at a time emergency services said they would have been more likely to have been battling bushfires.
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