It is possible that another severe case of flash flooding could hit the North East at any time, without much warning, so the State Emergency Service is working to be more prepared.
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Officers and volunteers were in Tarrawingee this week to talk to residents about what warning messages they had received ahead of flooding in December and what damage was caused when the rain hit.
SES North East operations manager Neil Payn said he wanted residents to also think about what they would do next time.
“We can have another event like this at any time. Climate change is a thing and we’re seeing this happen more and more often,” he said. “It’s a flood plain so it’s going to happen again.
“With climate predictions, it’s going to happen frequently.”
Weather warnings advising people about 50 to 100mm of rain go out about 30 times per year, so it was a shock when rain totals were much higher and such severe flash flooding occurred.
Mr Payn said another issue was that the worst hit towns of Tarrawingee, Eldorado and Everton did not have SES units, so they were very dependant on the CFA.
“We probably need to get some sandbags in so there’s easier community access because flash flooding happens quickly and we can’t get them from Wodonga in time, then it’s too late,” he said.
“We need to develop some community plans that actually cover flood and storm … We’ve got gaps, we need to get there and fill them.”
The results from this week’s drop-in session will be included into the plans for the SES to do things better in the future.
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