by Alesha Capone
The State Emergency Service’s (SES) Wyndham Unit has experienced its busiest month in years, with storm and flooding activity resulting in 275 calls to the unit during January.
Unit controller Laurie Russell said that between Friday, January 28 and Sunday, January 30, said about 30 calls came in as wild weather lashed Melbourne.
Between Friday, January 7 and Sunday, January 9, the unit received 247 calls when high rainfall also hit Wyndham.
Mr Russell said most of the calls, for both weather events, related to water entering properties and ceilings collapsing.
“This (January 2022) is the busiest month we’ve had for some years,” he said.
“The water over the roads in Werribee South was incredible.”
Werribee South resident Susie sent in these images that she captured after the thunderstorm on Friday.
Susie stated that she has “never experienced anything like it on Duncans Road near the general store and near our home”.
In addition, Mr Russell said the SES unit received a call from one property where sewerage was coming up through the resident’s sink.
“One of the things I could say, is that a lot of the calls are the result of a lack of maintenance of property,” he said.
Mr Russell said it was important for residents to ensure their spouts and gutters were regularly cleaned out and that their drainage system was working properly.
He said the Wyndham SES volunteers had all worked hard during January.
“I can really say our members are really feeling the strain, many of them are working normal jobs too, and their family members also feel it,” he said.
According to the Farm Online Weather website, Werribee experienced eight millimetres of rain on Friday and 35 millimetres of rain on Saturday.
The Bureau of Meteorology reported that Point Cook recorded 9.4 millimetres of rain on Friday and 64.6 millimetres on Saturday.
Before calling the SES, community members are advised that can be a high level of demand during a natural disaster.
The SES can assist with significant structural damage like collapsed roofs or ceilings, sandbagging areas in danger of flooding and rescuing trapped or injured people.
SES volunteers do not help with clearing debris and organising permanent repairs, or basic repairs that residents can manage.
The SES Wyndham Unit is on the lookout for more volunteers.
Details: www.ses.vic.gov.au/join-us/volunteer
