Rochester flood 'worst in memory'

By Whitney Harris
Updated November 7 2012 - 4:25am, first published January 16 2011 - 10:39am
FLOODED: Rochester residents Maddy Chartens (with Ruby) and Ebony Moran in the CBD to check out the floodwater.
FLOODED: Rochester residents Maddy Chartens (with Ruby) and Ebony Moran in the CBD to check out the floodwater.

AS most of Victoria enjoyed summer weather on the weekend, residents in the small northern Victorian town of Rochester were experiencing its worst-ever flood.More than 80 per cent of the historic town was under water on Saturday night, with emergency crews describing it as a much bigger flood than the previous largest in 1956.Busloads of people were taken to the relief centre in Echuca on Saturday, 65 of the hospital’s patients – including 24 acute – were evacuated to other hospitals, and aged-care patients were taken to Bendigo.A warning was issued to residents to conserve water as the domestic supply will be cut until the river subsides. At least two water trucks and bottled water were sent to the town.The Campaspe River reached a record level of 9.17 metres on Saturday night. Water is expected to stay in the town for the next 24 to 48 hours.Tens of thousands of sandbags were ineffective and residents were encouraged to leave their homes on Saturday morning.For some the warning came too late as they woke to the flooded Campaspe River at their doorsteps.Victoria Street resident Vicki Chisholm said for her and her two children, it was too late to even consider preparing their home.They fled with just the clothes on their back, their two pets and a few personal items stuffed inside a small carry bag.“We received no warning, nothing at all,’’ Ms Chisholm said.“We tried to get hold of some sandbags (Friday) night to cover the house, but we were told we couldn’t get any. They said we wouldn’t need them.’’The family received a text message at 9am on Saturday warning that floodwaters were rising and they needed to evacuate. Ms Chisholm said the water was already waist deep and almost seeping into the house. With no relatives or friends in the area unaffected by the floods, the family was taken to the Echuca Secondary College where the SES set up a relief centre for victims after water started creeping near the original centre in the heart of Rochester.SES incident controller Keith O’Brien said the water receded slightly overnight on Sunday, but high levels were expected to stay in the town for the next 24 hours or more.Almost 200 Echuca residents in low-lying areas were on flood alert yesterday as currents of water moved along the catchment from Rochester. The river peaked at 6pm. Mr O’Brien said it was a “one-in-a-100-year flood’’.About 100 Rochester residents – many of whom had already seen floodwater hit their homes – endured the hot sun and spent Saturday filling sandbags and distributing them to the affected homes before supplies ran out late in the afternoon.By this time many residents had lost hope of saving their homes.Echuca Road resident Elisha Bamford said she and her husband had lifted as much in the house as they could. Like many others, the young family of four will be counting the cost – their insurance policy does not cover floods.“There will be a lot of heartbreak in the town,’’ Ms Bamford said. “No one really expected to see water on this (northern) side of town; it’s come as a huge shock.’’When the family left their home yesterday morning the water had already swelled over their verandah. Ms Bamford said with so much attention given to the Queensland floods, she hoped smaller Victorian towns would not be forgotten when the clean-up begins.“It’s absolutely terrible over in Queensland, but with the river not yet at it’s peak, it’s going to get a lot worse here for many people.’’

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