Gannawarra Community Flood Recovery Advisory Network update

Published on 27 September 2023

Gannawarra Shire community representatives have come together to provide information on key issues impacting communities as recovery efforts from the October-December 2022 floods continue.

The Gannawarra Community Flood Recovery Advisory Network met earlier this month, building on the work undertaken by the Gannawarra Community Flood Recovery Committee to provide input into the development of the Gannawarra Municipal Flood Recovery Plan and Gannawarra Shire Council’s submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the 2022 Flood Event.

“The Gannawarra Community Flood Recovery Advisory Network features a cross-section of our community, with residents from areas impacted by last year’s floods assisting to guide our recovery efforts,” Mayor Charlie Gillingham said.

“This group of community representatives has been pivotal to the Gannawarra’s flood recovery efforts so far and will continue to play a key role in the coming months as our recovery work enters a second year.

“On behalf of my fellow Councillors, I would like to thank the Gannawarra Community Flood Recovery Advisory Network for their continued efforts to assist with the Gannawarra’s recovery from last year’s floods.”

Key themes discussed at the recent meeting included the process involved in gaining government funding to repair Council-managed roads and infrastructure, community input into the Gannawarra Municipal Emergency Management Plan review, progress towards the implementation of the Gannawarra Municipal Flood Recovery Plan, and the Northern District Community Health-led Community Resilience and Recovery Project, which aims to work across the Gannawarra, Loddon and Buloke municipalities over the next two years to develop a more sustainable model which better supports community outcomes in future emergency situations.

“The meeting also enabled community representatives to raise community issues and priorities with Council so as to guide ongoing work and communication with the wider community,” Mayor Gillingham said.

“Regular community updates on progress are distributed across the Gannawarra community via the monthly Flood Support Community Update newsletter and bi-monthly Gannawarra Connect newsletter.”

Residents impacted by the floods who require ongoing support are encouraged to phone the Victorian Flood Recovery Hotline on 1800 560 760 or Council’s Flood Recovery team on (03) 5450 9333.

For more information regarding flood recovery efforts in the Gannawarra, visit www.gsc.vic.gov.au/floods

ABOVE: The Gannawarra Community Flood Recovery Advisory Network is building on work previously undertaken by the Gannawarra Community Flood Recovery Committee (pictured).