Community
26 April, 2024
SES, CFA unite for flood awareness
SKIPTON’S Jubilee Park was coloured orange and flashing red and blue recently as the State Emergency Service (SES) held a Flood Awareness Day event.
The SES was joined by members of the CFA, Corangamite Shire Council staff, and representatives from the Glenelg-Hopkins CMA and Wellways to promote flood awareness in Skipton and help residents prepare for future flood events.
SES Victoria community resilience coordinator Lisa McDonald said the day was very successful.
“We were very pleased with the turnout, and it was great to see so many residents of Skipton taking an interest in increasing their awareness of the flood situation and being able to engage with them about their preparedness which will build their resilience towards the next flood, which will be inevitable,” she said.
“The number of residents who already had high levels of confidence in both their knowledge and their preparedness was really fantastic to see.
“It was great being able to engage with some of the newer residents of Skipton who weren’t there in October 2022 when the last flood went through, hopefully to explain where their properties sat in relation to potential rising floodwaters in the future.
“Another highlight was they we were pleased to see that, even though the SES ran the event, we were supported by our partners with the CFA, because we work as one.”
The SES were supported by Corangamite Shire Council’s environment and emergency services team, who were handing out information and speaking with residents about planning for emergencies.
Members of CFA brigades from around Skipton were also in attendance, taking the opportunity to have open discussion with residents about actions to take in the event of an emergency.
SES members were also conducting a survey on flood preparedness with Skipton residents, with the aim to return in the future and conduct the same survey to track their progress.
“We had our unit from Lismore, who was our closest unit to Skipton, who were all there during the October 2022 floods,” Ms McDonald said.
“We were handing out local flood guides, which had been updated since the October 2022 floods to include reference to where those moderate flood levels were.
“We also had some further information in there about the different between a minor, a moderate and a major flood level and where those water levels sit in relation to properties within Skipton.
“There was an activity pack for children based around preparedness, which is really looking at helping people to prepare their grab bag and to think about what steps they’ll take whether they evacuate or stay in the event that the property is impacted.”
Attending residents were treated to free coffee and ice cream, with a barbecue dinner held later in the afternoon.
Ms McDonald thanked the community for supporting the event.
A flood guide for Skipton can be found online at www.ses.vic.gov.au/plan-and-stay-safe/flood-guides/corangamite-shire-council#skipton-local-flood-guide.