General News
13 October, 2022
Flooding, rain lashes local communities
Rain hit the region again on Wednesday afternoon, continuing overnight and bucketing down on Thursday with water levels beginning to creep up during the day, and all major roads into Maryborough closed on Thursday afternoon. Residents and emergency...
Rain hit the region again on Wednesday afternoon, continuing overnight and bucketing down on Thursday with water levels beginning to creep up during the day, and all major roads into Maryborough closed on Thursday afternoon.
Residents and emergency services spent much of the week buckling down and preparing for the wet weather which comes on top of flash flooding over Thursday and Friday last week.
A severe weather warning was issued by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) for Maryborough, Castlemaine and Daylesford on Wednesday afternoon, with up to 80 mm of rain predicted for Maryborough on Thursday, and up to 100 mm for Avoca.
A community information session was held in Carisbrook at 10 am on Thursday facilitated by the Incident Control Centre from Bendigo along with Maryborough SES, local emergency services and council representatives.
During the meeting, SES north-west regional manager Sharon Unthank told residents there was a “very real” chance Carisbrook would experience significant flooding.
As of print deadline at 4.30 pm Thursday, while Deep Creek had broken its banks, the township had not been inundated and the creek had not reached the Pyrenees Highway bridge.
Multiple local roads were flooded during Thursday, including major thoroughfares like London Bridge on the Ballarat-Maryborough Road at Talbot, and the Craigie crossroads (Landrigan x Majorca roads).
Speaking to The Advertiser at4 pm on Thursday, Maryborough SES unit controller Darren Cooper said the situation at Carisbrook was being constantly monitored.
“It’s been constant work for us. There’s been some minor inundations in the region,” he said.
“The rain in catchment areas may cause Deep Creek to rise. The fact London Bridge at Talbot and Craigie crossroads has gone under is a clear indication that Deep Creek will rise — but to what extent we don’t know yet.
“We’re constantly monitoring, and looking at the rainfall in Clunes and Creswick which does have a direct impact on us here.
“People are quite concerned but our message is to be reassured that things are in place, we are proactively trying to relieve where we can and we’re constantly monitoring.”
Mr Cooper warned residents to steer clear of flood water on the roads.
“We’ve had several jobs where people continue to drive through flood water. It’s going to be the last decision someone makes very soon. Do not try to drive through flood water,” he said.
The BOM forecast, as of print deadlines on Thursday, was that the rain would ease into Friday before largely clearing up over the weekend.
Water levels will remain high today. Do not enter flood water on foot or in vehicles. It can take just 15 centimetres of water to float a small car — the height of an average pen.
Call VICSES if you need assistance on 132 500, or Triple Zero if you are in immediate danger.
Stay up-to-date with flood warnings at www.emergency.vic.gov.au/respond or download the VicEmergency app.
For flood preparation and advice visit the Victoria SES website at www.ses.vic.gov.au
The Advertiser is providing regular updates on the local situation via our Facebook Page www.facebook.com/MaryboroughAddy and website www.maryborough
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