Victorians warned to brace for flooding.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/17/3114765.htm?section=justin


Victorians warned to brace for flooding

Updated 2 hours 28 minutes ago


As floodwaters race towards Horsham, the SES is now warning communities in much of Victoria's north-west to prepare for major flooding in the coming days.

The SES is warning residents in dozens of towns in the areas between the Loddon, Campaspe and Avoca rivers.

Spokeswoman Jennifer Roberts says it is not just river communities that can expect to be cut off by floodwaters.

"Some of that is actually tens of kilometres away from where the actual river is, so we're asking people right across that area to be prepared for flooding," she said.

Further west, Horsham is bracing for record flooding. The SES says the Wimmera River is expected to peak at almost four metres sometime overnight.

Incident controller Stephen Warren says part of the town, south of the river, will be cut off from the central district, with high water expected to last at least 24 hours.

A relief centre is operating at the Horsham Town Hall and a second centre will be set up to the south of the city.

The Western Highway, which acts as the main thoroughfare between Melbourne and Adelaide, is expected to be closed tonight.

Mayor Michael Ryan says anxiety is high.

"People who live in the direct line of the flood are pretty nervous because it's never happened before," she said.

Hundreds of Horsham residents spent the weekend sandbagging their properties.

More than 10,000 sandbags were given away at the Horsham Council depot within several hours.

But Charlton resident Chris McGurk says after experiencing the flood peak several days ago, sandbagging did not help.

"Put your energies and efforts into packing up your house and trying to relocate," he said.

Residents of Allansford and Panmure in Victoria's south-west have also been sandbagging their properties during the night, in anticipation of flooding today.

The SES has issued evacuation warnings for people in low-lying parts of the area.

The Hopkins River and Mount Emu Creek are posing a threat to the communities.

Shane Reeves of the SES says police have been doorknocking.

"The police will attend at Allansford to conduct some doorknocking in areas that they may see at risk, just to ensure that the residents there are informed and are prepared to make a move if necessary," he said.

About 350 people have now been evacuated from their homes in low lying areas of Horsham, in western Victoria.

Cleaning up

Meanwhile, other parts of the state are cleaning up after record flooding last week.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is inspecting the damage in Echuca, one of 46 townships to be affected by the floods.

In Charlton, in the state's north-west, residents are cleaning up after their town was devastated by the second flood to hit the region in four months.

The Avoca River broke all previous records when it swamped 80 per cent of the town.

It is now receding and residents are again starting to clean-up as they did after the September floods.

Garry Lamour from the progress group Charlton Forum says it will be a much tougher task this time.

"I'd say for the people living in Charlton it's just as devastating as the Queensland floods, the force wasn't as great and there wasn't as many upturned cars and so it's not perhaps as newsworthy, but the devastation for the individuals is just as bad," he said.

The Corangamite Shire says major flooding in Skipton, west of Ballarat, will have a devastating impact on businesses in the town.

Nine homes and 20 businesses were inundated on Friday and Saturday, mostly in the town's main street.

Many of the same properties were damaged by floods in September last year.

Corangamite Mayor Matt Makin says the shire will do all it can to help residents and businesses to recover.

"It's quite a devastating impact for those businesses, particularly given a lot of them were impacted upon in September last year, so they've copped a second hit, you could say," he said.

"We imagine there will be a significant impact.

"We'll be doing all we can as an organisation, as I expect the State and Federal Government will, to minimise the longer term impact on those businesses."

Meanwhile, a central Victorian poultry producer believes flooding has killed 300,000 of his chickens.

The birds were being farmed in recently built sheds near Serpentine, north-west of Bendigo.

The company, Hazeldenes, says an early estimate of the damage bill is between $2 and $5 million.

Eighty properties in the town of Clunes, north of Ballarat, are also recovering from Friday's floods.

The Victorian Government is providing emergency payments and larger means-tested grants for floods victims.

One-off emergency grants are available at relief centres and those worst-affected can apply for more than $8,000 worth of longer-term assistance.

Emergency Services Minister Peter Ryan says the Government will do everything it can to fast-track the process and hold insurance companies to account.

"I am arranging for conversations with the Insurance Council in the course of the next 24, 48 hours," he said.

"We of course want to know that those actual policies are going to be honoured to the extent that they can be done."