Thousands still without power, outages could last a week

More than 20,000 Victorian households and businesses are still in the dark — and the blackouts could last up to a week.

The Bickley family looks over floodwater over Franklin St in Traralgon. Picture: David Caird

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Over 24,000 people remain without power across Victoria following the wild floods and storms that lashed parts of the state on Thursday.

The SES is dealing with 38 active requests for assistance, which are mostly in the Lilydale, Emerald and Hepburn Shire areas.

“The immediate focus is on clearing and stabilising the roads and bridges,” a SES spokesperson said.

“But even as flood waters recede, roads will continue to be impacted and there will be hazard materials still on the roads including tree branches, road signs and rocks.”

There remains a number of major road closures that should be avoided in the Dandenong and Yarra Ranges, near Trentham and Daylesford, and around Gippsland.

Limited access is available on some roads for residents and emergency services only.

Jordan Bourke clears his shed. Picture: Rob Leeson

Moderate flooding continues along the Thomson River towards Sale, but flood levels are expected to fall below moderate levels this morning.

The Yallourn power station – which supplies more than a fifth of the state’s electricity – was running at reduced capacity after being evacuated during the floods.

Gippsland Water has urged customers in Tyers, Rosedale, Cowwarr, Toongabbie and Glengarry to consider putting off any non-essential water use over the coming days due to supply issues.

In a statement posted online, the company said: “the recent storms have stirred up some of our raw water supply from the Moondarra reservoir, and our ability to treat water at our Tyers water treatment plant has been reduced.

“We know our customers may want to clean up after the recent storms, but we need your help to help reduce load on the plant, if you can.”

Laura and Kel Fitzclarence survey the mess after their property was flooded. Picture: Rob Leeson.

VICTORIANS STILL DRIVING INTO FLOODWATER

Victorians in flood-affected areas have been issued a stern warning not to drive into floodwaters after evacuation efforts were hampered by rescue missions.

Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp fired up at a press conference on Sunday, saying: “I do not know how many times we have to tell people that it is unsafe, that is how people die.

“Whilst we had to devote resources to actually do that (rescue people who drove into floodwaters) … there needed to be a focus on the evacuation itself, so there was a gap there.”

Two men and their submerged car after trying to cross the flooded Whittakers Rd rail underpass on Saturday. Picture: David Caird

They were forced to pull the car out by hand. Picture: David Caird

Valuable emergency services were diverted to help. Picture: David Caird

Meanwhile, acting Premier James Merlino said financial assistance will be available for Victorians who have been impacted by the floods and storms.

Those who are eligible can receive up to $42,250 in financial assistance.

Impact assessment teams have already visited around 600 properties, and say 140 have been impacted in one way or another.

No significant rainfall is forecast in the region for the remainder of Sunday.

A moderate flood warning has also been issued for the Yarra River from Millgrove to Coldstream.

People in the area are being advised to stay away from damaged and flooded buildings, fallen or damaged trees and powerlines, and damaged roads until authorities advise they are safe.

Traralgon is mopping up the mess after its floods. Picture: David Caird

Traralgon resident Jordan Bourke said he felt lucky to be alive, despite the floods leaving a heavy financial and mental toll on him.

He estimated the floods cost more than $10,000 in damages, after his vehicle and property’s central heating system were destroyed.

But the 31-year-old said things could have been much worse, after he and his fiancee were both trapped inside their property during the floods on Thursday morning.

“The main feeling was just helplessness, mother nature is pretty brutal, all we could do was just watch,” he said.

“The neighbours across the road were rescued at 9pm that night, someone tried to rescue them earlier in the day but they couldn’t get to them.”

They made the perilous journey to their neighbour’s house to get to a safer location, after the water started to recede later that day.

The pair travelled in water that was waist deep.

Debris tangled around a footbridge on a walking track beside Traralgon Creek. Picture: David Caird

“It was pretty nerve-racking just seeing my car completely submerged, and just hoping the house doesn’t wash away,” Mr Bourke said.

He said it is going to be some challenging weeks ahead for him and his fiancee as the recovery process begins.

“I am just realising how big the clean-up job is … and it’s going to be very cold as we have got no heating.

“It is not a great time as we are saving up for a wedding next year, so our savings are going to have a hit … we are just lucky we both have jobs.”

But despite the major setbacks, Mr Bourke said the community had rallied together in face of adversity.

“Everyone is just helping everyone, we are all just grateful that no one here has lost their life,” he said.

“It has been pretty tough but the experience has definitely brought us all closer together.”

Cars partly submerged in Traralgon’s floods. Picture: David Caird

WHOPPING COST OF DEADLY FLOODS

The cost of Victoria’s floods could top $1.5 billion, with more than 6500 insurance claims have already been lodged in response to the crisis.

The floods have been declared a “catastrophe” by the Insurance Council of Australia, which means claims will be prioritised from people living in affected areas.

“The insurance industry has made this Catastrophe Declaration to activate services and support for affected homeowners and businesses and reassure them that their insurer is there to help,” said Insurance Council of Australia CEO Andrew Hill.

“As many areas are currently inaccessible due to floodwater, insurers are expecting further claims in coming days as emergency services allow residents to return to their properties to examine the extent of their damage and losses.

One of the country’s leading economists Saul Eslake said based on the claims made so far, which he believes could be between $250,000 to $400,000, insurance costs could surpass $1.6 billion dollars.

Police escort Traralgon residents back to their flooded homes. Picture: David Caird

Mr Eslake said the floods could have lasting economic consequences for impacted communities, if the recovery mirrors last year’s Black Summer bushfires.

“The parallel is with the bushfires, [in that case] some people just decided to move away (from impacted areas) and not come back, in some cases it has taken a very long time for people to rebuild,” he said.

“(The economic recovery) will depend on what insurance companies pay out and whether what they pay out fully covers the damages.”

A massive clean up effort is underway in flood-affected regions, with more than 340 SES crews active across the state.

Two Victorians are also believed to have died in the disaster — 20-year-old Nina Barake, whose body was found in floodwaters in Glenfyne, near Cobden, on Friday morning, along with Brian Gilliland, who was found dead inside his car at Woodside on Thursday afternoon.

The Victorian government has reminded residents to stay out of floodwaters, with the risk of diseases including gastrointestinal infections and hepatitis A as well as the dangers of water being deeper and faster flowing than it appears.

Flood victim Nina Barake.

Brian Gilliland, with his dog Pee.

POWER COULD BE OUT FOR WEEK

One of the state’s largest major electricity providers has sent its “deepest apology” to its 33,000 customers who remain without power following the wild storms.

It comes as almost 40,000 households still remain without power following the wild storms and floods which lashed parts of Victoria since Wednesday.

More than 200,000 AusNet customers lost power during the peak of storms, representing a third of the company’s entire network.

Customers in impacted areas were told they could be waiting until next Wednesday until power is restored.

AusNet said it was “doing everything it can” to restore power to the remaining households.

“Our number one focus is getting power restored, our crews are working hard under extraordinary circumstances,” an AusNet spokesperson told the Herald Sun.

“The weather is continuing to impact our ability to restore power, this is the biggest disaster our network has faced in over 40 years.”

The electricity provider said its most affected customers were in the Gippsland region and Yarra Ranges.

Energy Australia also confirmed electricity generation would remain reduced at its Yallourn power station in Gippsland’s Latrobe Valley, as the operator continues to monitor flood levels.

TRENTHAM WATER SUPPLY RESTORED

Trentham residents have been told it is now safe to drink tap water again after the storms left the town with limited supply.

The residents of the rural Victorian town east of Daylesford were instructed to not drink the water on Thursday, as there was only two to three hours left of supply due to a suspected water burst.

The local supplier, Coliban Water, struggled to locate the burst due to the extreme weather conditions.

They instructed Trentham residents to not drink the tap water “until further notice”.

Managing Director of Coliban Water Damian Wells said the burst has now been located, and the do not drink advice has been lifted.

“Thanks for being so patient and understanding while our crews worked through the issues,” he said on Twitter.

“We are very grateful for the tireless work done by all Coliban Water staff and contractors as well as the agencies.

Originally published as Thousands still without power, outages could last a week