‘There are significant gaps at every level of government’: flood inquiry interim report released

Echuca residents accounted for 58 of the 608 northern Victorian submissions to the committee.

The emergency response was not adequate for the crisis experienced during the floods, the report found.

This gap was particularly felt in the disability sector, Community Respite Living Services chief executive officer Leah Taaffe said.

“The resourcing of the state emergency service and the adequacy of its response and the adequacy of its resourcing to deal with increasing floods and natural disasters in the future was also something we thought was important to address,” she said.

“(VICSES) did the best that they could, which was not good enough, and that is not a reflection on the personnel involved at all; rather, it reflects the under-resourcing, the poor training and the insufficient systems in place which would enable a robust, coordinated approach in response to any emergency event.

“It is also clear that there are significant gaps at every level of government in relation to planning, response and recovery.

“It was demonstrated that the framework in place is not effective, it does have significant gaps and it absolutely does not consider vulnerable people and how to ensure they are supported through emergencies and natural disasters.

“Our experience as a cross-border provider of essential services clearly demonstrated the lack of inclusion in emergency planning processes for people with a disability, both in Victoria and New South Wales.

“This was evidenced by the lack of accessible transport and there being no accessible accommodation and no accessible information being provided to people.“

Damage to houses and possessions was a critical issue in Echuca, which residents have blamed on a lack of planning and resources.

“The 2022 floods in the Campaspe region have shown gaps in the following areas ... the lack of infrastructure, such as storage units for saving household goods from flood damage and emergency housing to enable immediate evacuations,” Echuca Neighbourhood House manager Sarah Peake said.

“Local residents and businesses bear the financial burden due to flood damage which could have been lessened by planning and preparation.”

In Rochester, many residents remained in temporary accommodation at the time of submission. These living arrangements have been unsuitable and uncomfortable for residents, serving as constant reminders of the floods.

“My parents’ house was flooded in Rochester by the Campaspe River in the October 2022 flood disaster. They are still not in their home in May 2023,” Rochester resident Larissa Anderson said.

“They are in their late 60s and 70s and have been living in a small room off the shed with mice, no air-conditioning and unsafe heating.”

Some residents are still displaced or have only recently moved into their homes, 18 months after the floods.

The flood levee built in Echuca was also a concern for the community, splitting the town in two and putting homes in north-east Echuca in the firing line.

Around 190 properties on the other side of the levee were inundated.

“On 17th October 2022, the Campaspe Shire, SES and Emergency Management Victoria held a community information session at around 10am in the morning,” Echuca resident Glenn Carrington said.

“At this information session authorities advised that the water was likely to be higher than originally anticipated and that to protect the town a levee would be built essentially cutting off around 60 or more houses. Unfortunately, we were one of those houses.

“At around 2pm that same afternoon, a police officer came to us to let us know that if we didn’t evacuate that day, we wouldn’t be able to get back to our house because the levee was going to cut off our access.

“On 26th October 2022 ... I heard pumps start up from across the other side of the levy.

“The town’s sewer system had overflowed into the storm water and was flooding the streets on the ‘right’ side of the levy. They were pumping the excess water over the levee to the ‘wrong’ side.”

Many residents are frustrated with Campaspe Shire Council, the Victorian and federal governments, and have stressed that they must implement preventive measures.

“Prior to, during and post-floods I and my community have received very limited support from the Campaspe Shire nor emergency agencies involved in the flood event,” an anonymous Echuca resident said.

“There has been a missed opportunity to connect with this section of the Echuca community — ‘we’ literally organised our own meetings creating an opportunity for communication noting that no actions detailed in the minutes (have) been addressed.

“This has been a poor example of a Victorian Government response during an emergency situation.

“I have and continue to feel frustrated with the lack of action and any learnings being applied to improve any future responses.”

The interim report, through community submissions and hearings, found many critical issues in the lead-up, experience, and aftermath of the floods.

The committee will continue to hear from the community, with the final report from the Inquiry into the 2022 Flood Event in Victoria to be released by June 30.