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AT A GLANCE
- CENTRAL VICTORIA FLOODS: Rolling updates and full coverage
- LIVE RADAR: Emergency updates for your town
- PHOTOS AND VIDEO: Your photos and video coverage
- TWITTER: Live social media coverage
- MORE PHOTOS: Carisbrook on flood watch
- For emergency assistance contact the SES on 132 500
- For VicRoads road closures, click here
UPDATE 1.30pm: Premier Daniel Andrews has made a commitment that lessons learned from this week’s weather events will be taken on board to ensure communities like Charlton are better protected from flooding in the future.
Speaking beside the Avoca River in Charlton on Friday, Mr Andrews said the government would return to flood-affected areas to identify where improvements could be made.
“My commitment to every member of this district and all flood-affected districts is we will examine, we will review and we will learn from this,” he said.
“There’ll be lots of good things for us to be very proud of and to confirm, [like] the fact that agencies have worked so closely together, but where there’s room for improvement, where there are things that need to be changed, the community has my solemn commitment that we’ll be back, just as we were in March for drought having been here in November last year.”
Mr Andrews said emergency relief grants of up to $30,000 would be available for those who required them, but so far no one had put their hand up for assistance.
“Hopefully when we get to the peak in the early evening with decent conditions over the weekend and hopefully moderate rainfall early-to-mid-next week we won’t see a large number of homes impacted and we therefore won’t need to be providing financial assistance,” he said.
“This is a really tough community, a really tough and proud community but one that can always be supported and that’s why we’re here today.”
For more information on emergency assistance grants visit emergency.vic.gov.au
UPDATE 11.10am: Authorities are now predicting the river will continue rising throughout the day and into this evening, before peaking at 7.5 metres.
The Incident Control Centre’s Ben Tate told a packed town meeting that while some catchments were approaching levels seen in 2010, the water was not expected to reach those levels in Charlton.
“We’re looking at a peak of 7.5, which is a lot lower than September 2010 in Charlton, that peaked at about 7.9 so we’ve got a bit lower than that event which is very positive,” he said.
"Then after that peak we don’t pack up and go home, after that we’ve got days of high water levels before that all drains away, so there’s going to be a lot of work in recovery mode after the peak goes through.”
Mr Tate said more heavy rain was possible between Tuesday and Thursday next week, but any impact on Charlton would only become clear during the weekend.
“As we get into the weekend the Bureau’s forecast for that rain event, Tuesday through to Thursday, will get more certain so they’ll be able to give us bit of a better handle on how much rain we’re expecting,” he said.
“If we’re only looking at 10-20 millimetres or something it’s not going to do much to levels in Charlton, you might see some slight rises in the river but you’re not going to see peaks getting back up to 7.5, but if that rainfall was getting close to 50 millimetres that’s when we’re going to have to look a bit closer.”
UPDATE 8.30am: The SES has confirmed no houses were impacted by floodwaters overnight.
SES Wycheproof unit controller Cameron Arnel said the Avoca River was “holding steady” at 7.3 metres and not expected to rise any further in the short term.
“Yawong Weir went up another 200 millimetres last night but that’s not going to cause that much grief,” he said.
“It seems like a friendly river at the minute.”
Mr Arnel said while there could be no certainty the river would not continue to rise, so far the outlook was positive.
“The sun’s out and no one’s got wet,” he said.
A town meeting will be held at the Charlton Public Hall in Armstrong Street at 10am, and Premier Daniel Andrews is due to speak in the town centre at midday.
Both will be broadcast live on the Bendigo Advertiser’s facebook page.
UPDATE 7.45am: Charlton appears to have avoided major disaster with the Avoca River holding steady at about 7.3 metres since its expected peak at 11pm last night.
Donald Road resident, Stewart Smyth, whose home was inundated with a metre of water in the 2011 floods, said it had been a long night, but there was no damage to his property this time.
“You packed everything up and took things away and it turned out ...” he trailed off.
“But best to do that than be sorry later on.
“I suppose everybody’s on edge from the last time, because we lost everything last time.”
Another resident, Christian Coughlin, agreed the town was on edge, but said the near miss would help calm nerves.
“As soon as we got a big rain everyone started panicking a little bit, which is expected,” he said.
“I think this is really going to help the town come back to knowing that it will flood, but it’s not always going to be as bad as it was then.”
Like many locals, Mr Coughlin was pleased to see a culvert on the edge of town, which he said was only about 20 centimetres wide in 2011, extended by several metres to accommodate the rising waters.
“In January they dug a little trench that was just across the road and in 10 minutes that was full and it wasn’t doing anything to help the water,” he said.
“Whereas this time it’s been opened up completely and I think that’s what helped stop the town getting so much water in it.”
UPDATE 11.30pm: A straw poll of drinkers at the East Charlton Hotel shortly before the river was due to peak at 11pm reflected the generally relaxed atmosphere in the township.
Bernie Laffin, whose home "got smashed in the big one" said he was more worried about Charlton winning the weekend's grand final.
"Most of us live downhill and we wouldnt be here if we were worried," he said.
"She's finished."
By 11.30pm there was still no sign of any threat to property and Charlton’s main street remained dry.
UPDATE 9.40pm: The SES now say they expect the river to peak by about 11pm, but that it will cause minimal damage.
SES Wycheproof unit controller Cameron Arnel said the river was not expected to reach the 7.5 metre mark.
“The peak’s meant to be coming through at about 11 o’clock and it’s somewhere between 7.3 and 7.4,” he said.
“If it peaks at the levels they’re expecting we may have a little bit of water in the main street coming up through the drains.
“Other than that it should just come up to the back of the Rutherford Street houses but not actually impact any houses hopefully.”
Power has been restored to most of the state, but seven properties in Charlton remain without electricity.
UPDATE 7.40pm: Just 17 properties are now without power.
UPDATE 7.30pm: Power has been restored to most of Charlton with just 62 properties still affected.
UPDATE 6.40pm: More than 750 Charlton residents are still without power and are now being advised the problem will be resolved by 8pm.
The latest weather warning indicates the Avoca River at Charlton is currently at 7.13 metres and rising steadily.
It is expected to peak near 7.5 metres during Friday morning.
UPDATE 6.15pm: Flood waters were expected to peak in Charlton in the early hours of Friday morning as residents hoped to avoid similar property damage caused in flooding events about six years ago.
Bureau of Meteorology modeling showed the Avoca River would peak at 7.5 metres between midnight and 6am – significantly higher than the flood threshold level, but one metre below the 2011 levels.
The flood was also expected to fall short of the level of inundation in September 2010.
Described as a one-in-10-year event, the SES doorknocked 80 homes in the southern parts of the town on Thursday, while more than 100 people attended a public meeting in the Charlton Shire Hall.
The community was told to “rest when you can, it could be a long night”, and to “stay safe”.
The BOM prediction model showed 10 houses would be impacted and could be evacuated.
Victoria Police also retained a full contingent of officers in the town overnight to ensure the security of residents.
SES Wycheproof commander Cameron Arnel said houses on Rutherford Street were in the most immediate danger from the rising river, but the situation remained unpredictable.
He said water was expected to rise from the storm water drains in Charlton’s main street and elsewhere in town.
A power board was also made available in the town hall for residents to recharge their mobile phones, after the power was cut early on Thursday morning.
Powercor expected to restore power to 7800 homes in Charlton, Wedderburn, St Arnaud and Boort on Thursday evening.
Another public meeting will be held at the Charlton Shire Hall at 10am.
UPDATE 2.45pm: As flood waters approached Charlton in January 2011, Graham and Margaret Hodges decided to leave their Watson Street house and stay with a friend.
It was the second time flood had struck their property in the space of months.
Their house was inundated under the rising water, causing extensive damage to a bungalow and internal contents.
This time – almost six years later – they will be standing firm in their house all night to keep an eye on the emergency situation.
On Thursday, they were busy sandbagging as much as possible about 10 hours before the waters are expected to return. They will stay up all night playing the waiting game, prepared to remove property at the last minute if necessary.
“If it comes any higher than what they said, we’ll be in a lot of trouble again,” Mrs Hodges said.
“They are just guessing again how high it will be. We’re getting a lot of different stories.
“Some have said it could be 7.8 metres, another person said 8.4 If it gets to 7.4, then the water will be in the bungalow again.”
The couple attended a public meeting at Charlton Shire Hall at 1pm and were among many fearful of the impact of another flood.
Fire brigade members were also at the meeting. When they found out about the Hodges’ concerns about the flood, they raced to the tonnes of sandbags in front of the Lizard Roadhouse at the exit to town.
The Kangaroo Flat and Mandurang fire brigades quickly piled up hundreds of sandbags for the residents of Watson Street, and within half an hour they were lining doorways and walls – including the Hodges’.
While the peak flood level is not expected to reach the 8.9 metres of 2011, the Hodges hoped to have all bases covered.
“In 2010, we put in a claim for flood damage but it wasn’t paid out. That was because the water came from a sewerage pipe,” Mrs Hodges said.
“It wasn’t flood water.”
Like many, they were grateful for the overwhelming community spirit present in the town.
Others in Watson Street were frustrated at flood mitigation works on Charlton’s outer roads.
One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said there would be a lot of questions to be answered in the aftermath of the third serious flooding in six years.
UPDATE 2pm: Water levels at Charlton have exceeded the major flooding threshold of seven metres.
Bureau of Meteorology Senior Hydrologist Yves Bessard said the flood level was expected to peak tomorrow morning at about 7.5 metres.
UPDATE 1.15pm: The town meeting is underway in Charlton.
The meeting was told a task force and many volunteers are in Charlton to assist as floodwater threatens the town.
Since last night, the upstream gauge has peaked and locals say water has dropped slightly.
The timeframe has come forward and the river will continue to rise and possibly peak at 11pm and into tomorrow. Water will start to fall later tomorrow and the following days.
Emergency services are planning for higher water levels, but not expecting something as big as the September 2010 event.
The gathering was told authorities are keeping an eye on the St Arnaud Road and if something more needed to be done, council would be notified.
SES says “rest when you can, it could be a long night’’.
“It’s really important you look after yourselves, look after your mates, look after anyone else you know is going to need a hand.’’
Residents were advised to take personal papers with them if they need to leave their properties, check their insurance premiums and ensure they have the appropriate insurance cover.
Victoria Police has a full police contingent in Charlton today and through the night.
Residents were told Powercor is working hard to ensure power will be restored as soon as possible.
The meeting heard the lack of power was affecting online communication issues and residents needed to be able to charge mobile phones to continue to receive important text messages.
Power boards will be set up in the hall for people to charge phones, but there will be limited capacity.
Emergency vehicles with loud speakers will be sent through the streets if urgent communication becomes necessary.
State MP Louise Staley addressed the gathering and thanked emergency services and volunteers.
She said the first thing she learnt about Charlton was about floods, and encouraged residents to listen to the advice they were being given and heed the warnings.
“If you have any difficulty at all with accessing state government services, please do not hesitate to contact my office – but I hope you don’t need to contact me,’’ she says.
“Stay safe everybody.’’
UPDATE 1pm: A town meeting is about to get under way in Charlton.
UPDATE 12.40pm: Police have been door knocking houses on Rutherford, Halliday and Grieves streets in Charlton, advising residents to make preparations for rising floodwaters.
Charlton resident Chris Livington, whose parents live on Grieves Street, said they were expecting the water to reach about one foot in height.
“We’ve just been sandbagging their doors and the entrances to the property,” she said.
“The problem is finding out just what’s going to happen. It was meant to peak at lunchtime today, but now it’s lunchtime tomorrow.
“We’ve also been told the power will be back at 6.30pm, but that’s changed a few times too.”
Next door neighbour Ken Lugton moved to Charlton just months after the last floods in 2011.
He said the watermarks were still on the walls when he moved in, so he knows what to expect in the worst case scenario.
“I knew what I was in for when I moved here,” Mr Lugton said.
“If the water peaks at 7.5 metres, like they expect, then my house should be fine. If it gets to 7.9 metres, then it will be 100 millimetres below my shed level.
“I haven’t moved anything yet. I don’t expect I will have to.”
The water is expected to rise from the stormwater drains in Charlton’s main street later today or in the evening, and could threaten some businesses.
Another Grieves Street resident said the 2011 floods cleared out the channels leading into the town, meaning the water flows much better now.
A town meeting is planned for 1pm at the Charlton Shire Hall on Armstrong Street. The SES provided an update to the media at midday.
UPDATE 12.15pm: The SES is addressing media in Charlton. They say Charlton is still without power but Powercor has advised it should be restored by nightfall.
In the meantime, some local businesses are helping out with generators.
There have been no forced evacuations as yet. Most residents have been through this before and everyone ‘is working together to help each other out’.
Forecasts suggest the impact will be ‘a bit below’ that experienced in September, 2010.
“It’s a bit hard to predict exactly where the water is going to come through,’’ SES commander Cameron Arnel says.
The SES is planning for a one in 10 year event.
The SES and Victoria Police are currently door-knocking homes to advise of the latest information.
Charlton residents are worried the Avoca River will continue to rise throughout today and inundate homes, as sandbagging continues in earnest.
Despite the concern, most are confident the town will avoid the widespread damage caused during the 2011 flood.
One resident, who lives just north of the main bridge over the Avoca, said she expected the water to run through her house and out to her front veranda.
"It got right up to the veranda in 2011, and I expect that to happen again," she said.
"A lot of people are really worried because of what happened in 2010 and 2011.
"I wouldn't want to live at the southern end of town right now."
The resident said sandbagging had little impact during the floods. Tonnes of sand has been delivered to the town, as utes and trailers continue to be filled with sandbags at the Lizard Roadhouse.
The Charlton Hospital was impacted in the 2011 flood, but it has since been demolished and moved to another part of town, not expected to be inundated.
At the Charlton weir, the water is already past fences and is starting to creep up into the car park.
Bob Shaw, who runs a recycling business on the edge of Charlton, said some works had been done in the last five years to prevent a similar situation to 2011.
His business was completely flooded during the last floods.
"I still haven't been able to clean up since," Mr Shaw said.
The heavy rainfall in recent days is expected to flow from Avoca and through Charlton, and could last several days, some residents fear.
Power outages continue to affect the town ,as well as Wedderburn, St Arnaud, Donald and Boort.
A generator is supplying power to the Charlton hall on Armstrong Street, where a relief centre has been established.
UPDATE 10.30am: A community meeting will be held at 1pm at the Charlton Public Hall in Armstrong Street.
Flood waters in Bridgewater are receding. The Incident Control Centre at Bendigo has advised waters peaked at 3am and had since dropped 200 millimetres.
UPDATE 9.30am: The Avoca River in Charlton has broken its banks, inundated a riverside reserve and appears to be threatening several houses on the north side.
Hundreds of tonnes of sand was delivered to the town on Wednesday night in preparation for the rising waters.
The Calder Highway on the southern approach was also covered with water, but the road remains open.
Nathan Reeves, of Reeves Earthmoving, delivered 200 tonnes of sand to the town overnight.
He said locals were preparing for conditions similar to the floods that inundated the town in 2010.
"A lot of people are worried that it's going to be similar to those levels," he said.
"The shire rang us and asked to deliver the sand.
"It's been dropped off at both ends of town, hopefully it can prevent homes and businesses from being damaged."
Mr Reeves said the conditions were similar to 2010, but did not expect the level of damage experienced in 2011.
An emergency relief centre has been established in Armstrong Street, and a town meeting is expected to be held later in the morning.
UPDATE 9am: A relief centre has opened at the Charlton Public Hall in Armstrong Street this morning.
The Avoca River is still rising and is expected to peak in the next 24 hours.
UPDATE 8am: The Victoria State Emergency Service Incident Control Centre in Bendigo is keeping an eye on the water level in Charlton, which is expected to peak in the next 24 hours.
Public Information Officer Jemma Nesbit-Sackville said a ground crew had been door-knocking people who might be affected by groundwater when the peak comes through.
About 7500 people were without power after a major power fault affecting Charlton, Serpentine and Wycheproof.
Ms Nesbit-Sackville said Powercor was working to fix the fault.
"We have also had a very close eye on Carisbrook, which was monitored overnight," she said.
She said a potential peak at Tullaroop Reservoir steadied out overnight.
"Today we are continuing to monitor the situation and work closely with the divisional commander and CFA in Carisbrook," Ms Nesbit-Sackville said.
UPDATE 7.30am: More than seven thousand homes are without power in the Charlton area.
A Powercor spokesperson said a fault just before 1am occurred somewhere along the 66 kV line from Bendigo, causing outages to 7800 homes.
The fault is not believed to be due to the flooding, the spokesperson said, but water over the Calder Highway is preventing crews from locating the source.
Crews may have to go by boat in order to gain access to the fault.
“We will be patrolling again this morning but it is not a typical situation in that the floods are preventing us from restoring power,” the spokesperson said.
Powercor is hoping power will be restored by midday, but would reassess the situation once the fault is located.
Locations without power include: Charlton, Birchip, Boort, Donald, St Arnaud, Wedderburn and Wycheproof.
UPDATE 8.30pm Wednesday: Authorities will begin doorknocking Charlton residents who may be affected by rising floodwaters from 8am tomorrow, with river levels expected to peak by Friday.
SES chief officer Mark Cattell said emergency services had 10,000 sandbags on hand should they be required.
Mr Cattell said the flooding would be less severe than the town experienced in September 2010, but could be worse than that of November 2010.
In the worst case scenario he said the river could reach as high as 7.8 metres with the major flood threshold of 7.3 metres expected to be reached by midday on Thursday.
Properties on Rutherford, Orr, High, Kaye and Watson streets are expected to be among those affected.
The NCCMA's Camille White said water was generally expected to be contained to the river but some properties which backed on to it could be threatened.
"There might be some properties which may be affected but obviously we'll be working closely with those land owners who may be affected," she said.