Victorian floods 2022: Trees topple in sodden soil

Flood waters pooling in paddocks and roadsides with nowhere to run have started claiming healthy gum trees in unusually high numbers.

Flood-stressed trees are falling in unusually high numbers across northern Victoria after sitting in water for consecutive weeks, with one couple and their baby lucky to escape after a huge gum crashed on to their car on Thursday evening.

Rutherglen farmer and Victorian Farmers Federation grain groups president Ashley Fraser said he was shocked to find dozens of river gums had fallen on his property over the last week, as Victoria dealt with a flooding crisis.

“I’ve never seen anything like the sheer quantities of trees coming down in my 25 years here. I have had 50 to 60 trees down in the last week, it is incredible,” Mr Fraser said.

“Trees obviously fall from time to time, but not in the numbers that we are seeing now. We might have had one or two trees go over in 2010 and that was a very wet year, and then again in 2016, which was a wet year.

“Four trees fell together in the same spot last week after they had been surrounded by water off and on for three weeks and it was not that windy.”

Trees naturally adapt to cope with having roots submerged for prolonged periods, however problems start when areas not prone to high water flood.

“The big difference this time is that they are 20 metres from the waters’ edge. They are not old trees that are gone either, they would have had another 100 years of life in them. It is typically trees that have not grown straight up, they are in a row amongst other trees, and they grow on a lean,” Mr Fraser said.

Authorities deal with a fall tree across a road during Victoria’s flooding crisis.

The SES has responded to 1645 fallen tree reports since October 12, a spokesman confirmed that “this is not the full picture as we do not have a view of unreported incidents with trees on private and public land”.

When soil is waterlogged its ability to support plant life declines rapidly as oxygen supply and acidity decreases and compaction increases.

Farming community members confirmed yesterday that an increase in what appeared to be fallen healthy trees had been noted along the Murray from Wodonga to Swan Hill.

One said that: “We have lost a few trees in the orchard and that is 80m from the river. We are probably lucky that we have not had very high winds, if we got 80 to 90 km/h winds we would be having a heap fall over.”

“Normally you would expect it when trees are sitting in low spots on river bends, that sort of thing, when the ground goes soft, they get wet feet and give way.

“But it is happening anywhere now. We had over 260mm of rain in 10 days, so there is water going through paddocks 15 to 20cm deep and trees are sitting in water for long periods.”

Meanwhile, a Yackandandah couple and their three-month-old baby boy had a narrow escape after a huge gum tree crashed on to their vehicle at about 4:30pm on Yackandandah Rd on Thursday.

Mr Fraser said that he was recently driving on a country road but found himself cut off by a rising creek, when he turned back he was hemmed in by two trees that had fallen on the road behind him.

“There are a heap falling on the roads, I had to walk to a nearby farm to borrow a chainsaw to cut my way out,” he said.

The SES have warned that trees sitting in sodden ground are particularly prone to fall during high winds.

Some state forests and national parks have been closed due to flood damage. Roads, tracks and visitor sites have also been closed for public safety, and seasonal road closures have been extended in some areas due to conditions.