Flooding isolates Charlton

By Lauren Henry
Updated November 7 2012 - 4:20am, first published January 15 2011 - 4:59am
An aerial shot of Charlton flooding. Picture: JIM ALDERSEY
An aerial shot of Charlton flooding. Picture: JIM ALDERSEY

Charlton is totally isolated, with 80 per cent of the town under water.Flooding of the Avoca River is much worse than floods in September, and a large number of residents have been evacuated to Donald, which is also experiencing flooding.People were flown into Charlton by helicopter to fix a power station, which had caused power outages to homes.The 20 per cent of town on higher ground that is not affected by the flood is cut off from the rest of the town.SES region controller Graeme Poulton said there was difficulties getting food into the town today."We had to chopper that in but we had difficulties actually finding a landing site to get that food in and communications were such that we couldn't contact people there to tell us where to land, but that's been resolved now,'' he said.Mr Poulton said the Charlton relief centre had been relocated to Donald out of necessity, and authorities were hoping to resolve major power and communications issues soon.In Donald, water from the Richardson River is rising in low areas of the town, with the peak expected tonight or early Sunday morning. A relief centre has been set up at the Donald showgrounds, and emergency services have sandbagged to protect houses and the drainage system.The Tyrell Creek in Culgoa, a tributary of the Avoca system, is expected to flood half a metre higher than September last year and residents are being warned to evacuate. Water rises are expected to start happening from now and to peak sometime on Monday."People in Culgoa we ask you to prepare for that and ask you to take whatever action you need to take if your house is at risk,'' Mr Poulton said.A relief centre has been set up at the Sea Lake Sports Complex.Mr Poulton said the flood would eventually have a major impact in Swan Hill, when the Loddon and Avoca rivers peak in Swan Hill.

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