Relief centres now open in Cockatoo and Emerald for storm-impacted residents
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Relief centres are now open in Emerald and Cockatoo to provide support to residents impacted by yesterday’s (Tuesday 13 February) severe storm events.
The relief centres are located at Cockatoo Community Complex (79 Pakenham Rd, Cockatoo) and Worrell Reserve (402 Belgrave-Gembrook Road, Emerald) and will be open from 9am to 5pm every day until further notice.
Council’s teams are working hard to bring in services and provisions to the centres as quickly as possible.
Residents can currently visit the relief centres to report issues to Council, get information on services in the area and get access to phone chargers.
Emerald Emergency Support Team (EST) is hosting a community barbecue, which will be operating until 5pm at both relief centres.
Bins are now available at the relief centres for residents to dispose of spoiled food.
The centres are being staffed by Council’s Emergency Management and Community Strengthening Teams, alongside Community EST volunteers and VICSES.
Significant storm damage has been experienced across Cardinia Shire, with Clematis, Emerald, Avonsleigh and Cockatoo the worst-affected areas.
These areas are experiencing widespread outages and significant challenges, including water supply issues, fuel shortages, power and mobile phone reception outages, fallen trees, and damage to facilities and infrastructure.
It is understood that local petrol stations and shopping centres are experiencing power outages, except for IGA Cockatoo. This means these businesses can only accept cash payments for now.
Cardinia Shire residents are asked to please leave bins out on their normal collection day. Our drivers will do their best to collect bins, however delays may occur if road access is limited. If your bin is not collected on your normal collection day, please leave it on the kerbside and we will return as soon as possible.
For updates from Council on storm relief and recovery support visit Council’s website at www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/stormrecovery (which will be online shortly) or its Facebook page at www.facebook.com.au/cardiniashirecouncil
If you have experienced damage at your home or business, call the Victoria State Emergency Service on 132 500. Please note that the SES is experiencing a high volume of calls due to widespread storm damage across Victoria.
If you need to report a road, tree, or drainage issue on Council-managed land that could pose an immediate risk to public safety, please report it online at www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/report
For information on power outages: www.ausnetservices.com.au/outages