Council's response to Christmas Day, January storms, flash flooding

Published on 04 January 2024

Gannawarra Shire Council has thanked residents for their patience as staff and emergency service personnel responded to storms that impacted the Gannawarra on Christmas Day 2023 and Tuesday, 2 January 2024.

More than 100 millimetres of rain fell throughout the municipality on Monday, 25 December, with the rainfall and subsequent power outage causing significant flooding to numerous properties.

A second storm that passed across the municipality on 2 January that produced between 50-75 millimetres of rain in a one-hour period inundated areas of the municipality, with strong winds also bringing down trees.

The Kerang township was significantly affected in both events, with efforts to remove stormwater from the town’s system on 25 December impacted by a power outage that left some residents without electricity for most of the day.

“The flooding of Kerang on Christmas Day was the worst I have seen during my 30-plus years working with the Gannawarra Shire Council, as well as previously with the Borough and Shire of Kerang,” Council Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Rollinson said.

“Although Kerang is protected by 17 kilometres of flood protection levees, these levees have the opposite effect in a storm event, with most of the stormwater needing to be pumped back into the Loddon River.”

Council staff began monitoring Kerang’s 14-pump network when the rain began in both instances, drawing the system down to reduce any pressure on the network.

Despite these efforts, the power outage on 25 December affected 11 of these pumps, causing stormwater to inundate streets throughout Kerang and some houses to be impacted by flooding.

The volume of rain in a short period of time on 2 January led to many streets throughout Kerang to be inundated for the second time in eight days.

ABOVE: The Kerang Fire Brigade assisted to remove water from Kerang's stormwater network on Christmas Day 2023.

“The Kerang Fire Brigade provided significant support on Christmas Day, using their pumps to shift water away from the worst affected areas, whilst Council used its own pumps and equipment sourced from Goulburn-Murray Water to also move water,” Mr Rollinson said.

“Once the power started to be reconnected to locations where pumps are located, work occurred to reduce the amount of water left throughout the town, with the last of Kerang’s inundated streets to be cleared of stormwater by early Boxing Day morning.

“Similar efforts occurred following the rain on 2 January, with staff working into the night to pump water away from significantly impacted areas.”

The storms Gannawarra residents experienced on Christmas Day 2023 and 2 January 2024 are classified by the Bureau of Meteorology as having a less than one per cent chance of occurring in any given year.

“Industry design standards recognise that it is impractical to contain rain events like what we experienced in underground networks, which results in road reserves becoming inundated and temporarily storing stormwater until it can be removed,” Mr Rollinson said.

“Like many municipalities, our stormwater networks were installed prior to the development of these design standards, meaning that these networks can struggle with more common rain events due to varying factors, such as the size of pipes used to remove stormwater.

“Council continues to investigate ways and implement measures to improve our ageing stormwater networks, ensuring properties are not inundated or cut off in future rain events.”

ABOVE: The entrance to the Kerang Swimming Pool following a storm that impacted the Gannawarra on 2 January 2024.

Many of Council’s facilities were also impacted by the two storms, including the Kerang Swimming Pool kiosk, Kerang’s Sir John Gorton Library and Council’s Customer Service Centres at Cohuna and Kerang.

“Council thanks all staff and volunteers whose time was spent responding to these weather events rather than with family and friends over the Christmas period,” Mr Rollinson said.

Residents who have had dwellings or other infrastructure impacted by the storm and flash flooding events should contact their insurance provider in the first instance. Residents who have had to relocate from their primary place of residence due to flooding or who have ongoing needs are encouraged to contact Council’s Flood Recovery team on (03) 5450 9333 for support and assistance.

Residents can stay up to date with emergency warnings by relying on these trusted sources, which also provide information on how to prepare and respond to storm and flooding events:

Victoria’s Better Health Channel provides information on preparing for emergency events and how to return home safely and clean up following a flood event, which can be found online at www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/emergencies-floods

Council will also seek to provide updated weather warnings and information via its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Gannawarra).

MAIN PHOTO: Kerang's streets were inundated following a storm on Christmas Day 2023.