Flood and Storm Recovery

Community Conversations

Flood and Storm Community Conversation Web Banner

Council in partnership with Bushfire Recovery Victoria will host a series of Community Conversations for impacted communities. These conversations will allow the community to ask questions about the ongoing recovery activities across Latrobe City.

The Community Conversation sessions aim to make things easier, by bringing together relevant authorities in one place, providing the community with an opportunity to engage with them directly.

Online Community Conversations

South Ward

View the session recordings below and hear the questions submitted by the community prior to the sessions, as well as those asked during the Community Conversations:

View a copy of the presentation made by the Incident Control agency, the Victorian State Emergency Services (SES):

SES Presentation Gippsland Region Extreme Weather Event June 2021

East Ward

Traralgon and districts:

Watch the Wednesday 9 September 2021 recording

Flood and Storm clean-up information

Banner image featuring Traralgon Flood and Yinnar Storm events in 2021

Tree, Road and Drainage Works

Tree clearing and roads and drainage works continue across Latrobe City as part of the flood and storm events response.

View Tree, Road and Drainage Works information.

Council crews and their contractors continue clearing trees from roads, assessing and remediating roads that are inaccessible or have limited access. The team has now cleared 357 km’s of roads and over 74 roads now completed.

Governments Support for Storm and Flood Recovery

Residential Storm and Flood Clean-up program

Registrations for our Residential Storm and Flood Clean-up program will be closing from 11:59pm on Sunday 31 October 2021.

If you were impacted by the June storms and floods and your property is eligible for our clean-up program, make sure you register now so you don’t miss out.

The cut-off date is for new registrations only – it does not affect those who are already registered and are waiting for a call-back, site assessment or works to begin.

To find out more and register your property, call 1800 560 760 (available Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm) or go online at www.brv.vic.gov.au/cleanup.

Flooding Response

Latrobe City has experienced a number of significant rainfall events this year.

These significant events have occurred in different patterns resulting in different flooding responses from rising riverine flooding, steady prolonged rain to flash flooding from intense storm cells.

Flash flooding can result in property impacts in areas that aren’t recognised as having a flood risk. Some of the areas recently impacted include:

Riverslea Boulevard, Traralgon;
Main Street/Cairnbrook Road Glengarry;
Grammar Drive, Traralgon; and
Taylor Crescent, Traralgon

Council Stormwater Systems

Latrobe City Council’s stormwater systems are generally designed in two layers with underground drains designed to convey minor storm events and additional overland flow paths to convey the major events.

High intensity, short duration flash flooding events are particularity problematic for Council’s stormwater infrastructure to convey as they:

tend to collect debris and block stormwater inlet points;
engage overland flow paths; and
occur in areas that may not have an obvious history of flooding.

Overland flows paths are also modified through filling to flatten land or the construction of gardens and sheds, particularly when within property easements. The effects of which does not become apparent until a flash flood event occurs.

To help identify both short and long term improvements and mitigation options, Council officers are currently arranging the following:

CCTV inspections of a number of high risk locations based on these recent events, along with other areas that have previously been identified.
Flooding/drainage modelling and analysis to help inform short and short term infrastructure improvement opportunities.
Modification of stormwater pit lids and grates, clearing of pipes, and replacement of damaged pipes that have already been identified and are being actioned as quickly as possible, within the budgets available.

Latrobe City recognises there are significant impacts for residents and are working to rectify or improve the situation as quickly as possible.

Council is focusing on cases:

with habitable floor area flooding (homes);
then other structure damage (garages, sheds, etc); and
garden or nuisance flooding.

What's Next

It is acknowledged that the stress and trauma on impacted families is leading to anxiety over repeated events, forecasts of more rain, and timeframes with which Council are reacting may not meet their expectations.

Council officers continue to work with affected community members to inform any future drainage work undertaken and intend to engage them directly early in the new year, with the establishment of drop in sessions in Traralgon and Glengarry currently being explored for early 2022.

Should you wish to speak with a member of the team regarding a flooding issue you may have experienced recently, please feel free to contact us on 1300 367 700.

Traralgon Community Recovery Committee

In response to the June 2021 flood and storm event, a Community-Led Recovery Committee (CRC) is being established in Traralgon.

Traralgon residents from all ages and backgrounds are invited to consider joining the committee, which will be supported by Latrobe City Council and Bushfire Recovery Victoria.

The committee will work together to support flood recovery and build a toolbox of community skills to better respond to these events in the future.

View more information and apply

Flood and Storm Resources

View Flood and Storm resources such as community newsletter and service providers.

Emergency Warning

A range of recovery resources and updates, for impacted residents, can be found below.

You can find information on the latest emergency warnings via:

SES website at www.ses.vic.gov.au/warnings or on Facebook www.facebook.com/vicses or via Twitter on twitter.com/vicsesnews
Vic Emergency App or visit emergency.vic.gov.au

For weather warnings and forecasts visit www.bom.gov.au

For road closures visit alerts.vicroads.vic.gov.au

Floods - Key Health Information for Community Members

Farming and Agricultural Storm and Flood Recovery

Agriculture Victoria has dedicated flood advice and support for farms and primary producers affected by the recent weather.

Information includes:

Urgent animal health concerns – injury, loss or disease
Financial assistance and support
Emergency contacts and information
Technical support
Business support
Regional support
Flood warnings and rainfall information
Local government contact information
Catchment management authorities
Personal and family support
Other supports

https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/farm-management/emergency-management/floods/flood-advice-and-support

Firewood Collection

Community members are reminded you are not permitted to collect storm damaged timber from roadsides. Not only does this pose a risk to your personal safety, this also causes a traffic hazard and impacts the safety of workers.

The removal of roadside timber is not permitted at this stage. Authorities will advise of potential wood collection sites when areas have been declared safe.

Getting help

Call the SES on 132 500 from anywhere in Victoria for flood and storm emergency
Centrelink (Information on payments and services) 132 850
DPI - Department of Primary Industry (For agricultural and farming enquiries) 136 186
DHS - Department of Human Services (For community and housing services) 1300 650 172
Salvation Army (Food / Clothing) 137 258
Vic Roads (Traffic Hazards) 131 170
Gippsland Crisis Line (Personal support - 24hr service) 1800 629 572
Lifeline 13 11 14
Beyond Blue 1800 512 348
Kids Helpline Official 1800 55 1800

Red Cross

Information on taking care of yourself and family after an emergency can be found on the Red Cross Website

If you are in need of support, crisis/emergency psychological first aid is available by calling 1800 232 969.

Incident Controller Community Newsletter

Supporting Our Communities' Recovery

Need for Feed

Farmers in need of fodder are invited to receive hay from a bale drop by Need for Feed Australia this Saturday, 26 June, in conjunction with Lions clubs.

Smaller trucks and utes will be available to deliver hay directly to properties. Large trucks will bring hay to the area.

To receive an allocation of feed, farmers:

Must register with both Council on Crisisworks and Need for Feed’s website, www.needforfeed.org (click on ‘Apply for assistance’ tab).

To contact Council, phone the call centre on 1300 367 700.

If there are problems with access to the property, there may be availability in Yinnar for farmers to collect feed directly from the distribution point.

Our Recovery

Landslips

Regular updates are available through the Landslips Newsletters below:

March 2023

October 2022

July 2022

Roads closed due to landslips

Roads with five tonne load limit on some lengths

Roads with lanes closed due to landslips:

Relief and recovery information

Support services are available to people impacted by floods and storms to help meet their immediate and essential needs.

Financial Assistance

Visit VicEmergency Financial Assistance to find out more.

Financial Assistance

Guaranteed Service Levels (GSL)

Payments may be available as compensation for periods of extended or repeated power outages.

Click here for more information on Ausnet guaranteed service levels and to check whether you qualify for a GSL payment.

Customer charter (ausnetservices.com.au)

Legal help during a disaster

Disaster Legal Help is a website with a variety of information to help people impacted by a disaster such as the recent storm and flood event.

The website provides information about such topics as employment, accommodation, emergency assistance, parenting and child support, property, insurance and utilities.

For more information, go to https://www.disasterlegalhelp.org.au/get-help or phone Disaster Legal Help on 1800 113 432 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm).

The information provided is for general advice only and is not a substitute for legal advice.

Leaving Your Home During an Emergency

You can leave your home in an emergency if your health and safety, or the health or safety of someone you live with is at risk. You can travel to a friend or family member’s house, or book yourself into alternative accommodation like a hotel or motel. Follow your normal evacuation or relocation plans in a COVIDSafe way.

VicEmergency Leaving Your Home During an Emergency Guide

Returning Home