More needs to done for small rural communities hit hard by the October 2022 floods as a bitterly cold winter looks set to make things worse for those struggling to recover, according to one Campaspe Shire resident.
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A parliamentary inquiry into the flood event is under way and has been visiting towns most impacted by the floods to help residents lodge submissions in the hope of recommending action to help those worst hit by the disaster.
While the major centres of Echuca and Rochester have attracted most of the attention of the media and authorities, Carag Carag resident Meshelle Catalano is concerned small rural areas may be overlooked.
'Do you guys even know we flooded?'
According to Ms Catalano, many in these communities are now in the grips of a winter with water still on the property, disease-ridden stock, and lack of fodder to feed animals.
"I know a lot of people are struggling to buy food for winter for stock," she said.
"And lot of people grow their own fodder, and when their fodder went underwater, it's deemed unusable."
While Ms Catalano recognises many communities are on the receiving end of support via outreach flood recovery officers, many of the help numbers circulated throughout communities are overrun and no longer able to provide the support needed to prop up struggling farmers.
"It was great that they had the foresight to find numbers, but I don't think they had a grasp on the volume of animals that would need feeding," she said.
"They've given these numbers out to over a thousand people. They're already wiped out. They don't have any stuff to give."
Ms Catalano said she had attended the flood inquiry events and had been told by officers there they were not even aware her township had flooded.
"I was saying, 'hey, do you guys even know we flooded?' Ms Catalano said.
"And some of them simply said, 'no, we did not'."
For Ms Catalano, it is an example of recovery administrators lacking understanding of the scale of the flood event, and incomprehension on where the water went beyond their immediate coverage.
"It gives the opinion that they don't have the true story of what actually occurred," she said.
"They're all looking at the larger inhabited areas, but they sometimes forget the little guys in the outer areas of those larger areas."
Flood Inquiry submission deadline extended
Submissions for the Parliament's Inquiry into the 2022 Flood Event in Victoria have been extended until June 28, with Campaspe Shire mayor Rob Amos urging residents to tell the human story behind the statistics.
"While statistical data about asset losses provide one side of the coin, it's only through the lived experiences of local residents, businesses, farmers, teachers, community groups and others impacted by the flood that the human toll can be truly understood," Cr Amos said.
Submissions can be made either online here or via email to floodenquiry@parliament.vic.gov.au
If you feel you are part of an overlooked community there is support available to you from the Recovery Hub at Rochester Community House, 43/45 MacKay St, Rochester VIC, 3561.
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