|
|
|
Home>Brochures and charts to help Jeparit prepare for flood - Wimmera CMA
| Brochures and charts to help Jeparit prepare for flood - Wimmera CMA |  Printer Friendly |
| Latest research and planning into the behaviour of floodwater in the Wimmera has led to Jeparit district community having access to fresh information about rising water levels.
Wimmera Catchment Management Authority has worked with Victoria State Emergency Service and Hindmarsh Shire Council to prepare an up-to-date flood-information brochure.
They have has also developed charts identifying individual properties at risk of flooding.
The brochure details how people can protect themselves and their properties before, during and after times of flood.
The individual property charts, based on one-in-a-hundred-year-flood modelling, explain how a flood might impact on specific properties.
The Wimmera River, despite being under stress from a lack of water, has a history of flooding. A flood emergency in Queensland and NSW this year has highlighted how quickly circumstances can change.
Wimmera CMA planning and assessment manager Cathy Tischler said floods, fires and drought across Australia had underlined why it was important to plan for major natural events.
“While bushfires and water shortages are in the public spotlight in our region, the time is right to plan for the next flood,” she said.
Victoria SES is responsible for dealing with Victorian floods and works with Wimmera CMA and local government to inform people how to protect themselves and their properties.
The brochure, which includes a detailed map showing the extent of where water might flow during a flood in Jeparit, outlines how people can get access to up-to-date information and how authorities will warn and help them.
It also provides information on how people can prepare for a flood, what they can do to minimise risk and who they need to get in touch with if there is a need to evacuate.
The individual property charts, which will be delivered to properties at direct risk of flooding, provide specific information about the potential impact of a flood.
Wimmera CMA will mail out brochures to properties in high-risk flood areas. Brochures will also be available from Hindmarsh Shire Council, VICSES and Wimmera Catchment Management Authority offices and their websites.
Hindmarsh Mayor Mick Gawith said preparing the brochures had involved a long and comprehensive consultation process and extensive scientific research.
“This is not something to be taken lightly. I implore people to take it seriously, read it and put it in a prominent place. In this time of a long protracted dry period, people tend to pass this type of thing off as a bit of joke. But I encourage people to take it seriously,” he said.
“We should look at flood plans the same as we would fire plans. After all, it’s all about protecting life and property. You hope a fire or a flood never happen but we need to plan for them to minimise damage and prevent injury or loss of life.”
The flood information brochure lists key emergency numbers, descriptions of flood behaviour in Jeparit and provides a what-to-do ‘quick checklist’.
Ms Tischler said a letter of explanation would accompany the individual property charts and recommended people place them inside electricity meter boxes for easy reference.
Copies of the Jeparit Flood Response Plan and VICSES Hindmarsh Local Flood Response Plan are available at the council office.
Flood-warning information is available at website http://www.bom.gov.au/hydro/flood/flooding.shtml
Other information is available on VICSES website http://www.ses.vic.gov.au/FloodSmart or by calling the relevant council or Wimmera CMA on 03 5382 1544.
Jeparit is on the Wimmera River next to Lake Hindmarsh, a terminal lake of the Wimmera River. Storage levels at Lake Hindmarsh significantly influence flood behaviour in Jeparit.
Jeparit district has been subject to flooding in many years including 1894, 1909, 1915, 1923, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1992, 1993 and 1996.
End of release
| |
| |
|