Vic Flood Update: Shepperton, Echuca Brace on River Peak
Riverside towns and cities hit by Victoria’s worst flooding in decades could face a devastating second wave this week as widespread rainfall is expected across much of the state there is.
Wet weather is expected to hit just as water in the worst-hit rural towns and cities is expected to begin returning to normal levels.
Both Echuca and Shepperton are expected to see up to 25 mm of rain on Thursday, with more rain likely to hit the already flooded ground on Friday and Saturday.
Areas hit by the deluge will be cleaned up days after the next rain.
However, the exhausted residents of Shepperton recovered overnight as the swollen Goulburn River rose more slowly than expected.
The Goulburn River in Shepperton was expected to peak at 12.2m, but stabilized at around 12.05m around 6am Monday morning.
It is now expected to peak late Monday morning at about 12.1m, exceeding the 1974 flood level of 12.09m.
Nearly 7,000 homes across Shepperton and neighboring Moorupuna and Kiara were affected by power outages in Murchison, Tatula, Toolamba and Moorupuna.
There are 14 critical warnings issued statewide.
Residents of Echuca, Charlton and Bambertha in the northern part of the state were told to evacuate immediately at 6 a.m. Monday, while residents of Shepperton, Moorupuna, Murchison, Olbert and Kiara West were told it was too late to leave.
The closure of the main road link, the Peter Roth Edwards Causeway, on Sunday cut the towns off from each other.
Locals were stunned as they gathered on the main road into town from Melbourne on Sunday after water from the Goulburn River rushed into the boulevard and flooded the foreshore of Lake Victoria Park.
Hundreds of residents took refuge in relief centers set up at the Shepperton Showgrounds, nervously waiting for the water levels to rise.
In flood-ravaged Moorupuna, the Powercor substation had to be switched off as 5,800 residents were expected to be without power for days.
SES Chief Operations Officer Tim Wiebush said a major challenge for emergency services was complacency due to “blue sky flooding.”
“The rain may stop and you may see some strange showers, but the heavier the rain, the more visible[the risk]will be to people,” Weebush said.
“So we are admonishing people. Heed the warning.”
Echuca in danger
Two border towns of Echuca and Moama are at risk of flooding in recent days as heavy rains surged in the Campaspe and Goulburn Rivers into the Murray River.
On Sunday, water began leaking from the banks of the Murray River, threatening homes and businesses in Echuca and Moama.
Echuca’s Campaspe River peaked at about 96.25m (Australian height standard) late Sunday afternoon, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
With water levels rising in the Murray River, the river is expected to remain at about 96.2m Monday morning, but is slowly dropping.
“Massive flooding is expected to continue over the next few days,” read the flood warning.
It is reported that up to 400 homes in Echuca may be affected by the floods, with more rain likely en route.
Residents were busy stacking sandbags to protect the waterside holiday parks on Sunday afternoon as they had already soaked into the parks on the NSW side of the river.
“We expect more rain this week,” said Tim Wiebush, SES Chief Operating Officer.
“The bureau indicated an additional 20mm to 50mm of rain could fall later in the week, especially in the northeast catchment.”
SES was unable to say what effect the predicted rain would have on river elevation.
Weebush said his agency will update its plans in the coming days as the weather forecast “continues to intensify.”
Crew fight for food
Paramedics struggle to deliver food to disaster areas in Rochester.
Some residents who were staying in town have already started tearing up carpets and ruined furniture.
However, the town’s supermarkets remain closed and roads are severely disrupted by flood waters.
Rochester SES unit controller Tim Williams said the crew feared people returning home would be stranded on the road.
Williams said river levels are still above the height of the massive floods, and people will have to delay returning to town.
Paramedics were also trying to secure a skip bin to begin loading debris.
Flood-ravaged communities still mourn the death of 71-year-old Kevin Wills, who was found in his backyard.
PUMPED TOWNSFOLK SAVE CBD
Through a remarkable community effort, several businesses in Murchison were saved from being wiped out in the devastating Victorian floods.
Sam Birrell, Member of Parliament for Nicholls, said part of the town (about 100 miles north of Melbourne) was severely affected by the flooding.
“There is an embankment between the garden and the river bank. There are shops on one side of the road, gardens, and the river on the other side,” he said.
“That (embankment) seems to have done its job thanks to the furious efforts of the locals to sandbag and pump water from the main street over the embankment into the river.
“(This is) an amazing effort by the locals.
“According to my information, this seems to have saved the business on Main Street, but unfortunately the house was flooded and a winery called Murchison Winery was damaged, but the basement door was intact. ”
He said he hopes the town is past its worst floods.
“All that water is now swelling around Shepperton, and there’s also a fair amount of water on Main Street in Moorupuna.”
He called on the state government to demand emergency cash from Canberra to help rebuild flood victims.
Additional reporting by Hayley Elg, Kimberley Seedy and Julieanne Strachan
first published as Central Victoria floods: Shepperton, Echuca prepares for major floods
Vic Flood Update: Shepperton, Echuca Brace on River Peak
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