The City of Greater Geelong is continuing to work with authorities to monitor and respond to the flooding situation in our region.
On Saturday, the City opened an emergency relief centre at the Grovedale Community Hub for residents who chose to evacuate the Barwon River Holiday Park in Belmont.
The relief centre opened at 11.30am and provided a safe place for those who did not have an alternative place to go.
It was used by four community members and closed at 5pm on Saturday evening. Those requiring overnight accommodation were assisted to find it.
Sandbags
Approximately 7000 sandbags have been filled and distributed from St Albans Reserve in Thomson.
Contaminated sandbags (those that have been in contact with river water) can be placed on nature strips and booked for collection via our website.
Sandbag collections will not count as part of residents' yearly hard waste allocation.
With further rain forecast later this week and river levels already high, residents are advised to stay prepared by keeping uncontaminated sandbags for potential future use.
Impacts on City facilities
Several City of Greater Geelong-managed facilities are closed until further notice as a result of flooding:
- Landy Field athletics centre
- Barwon Valley Activity Centre (BVAC)
- Balyang Par 3 Golf Course
- Belmont dog park
- Lara, Queens Park and Barwon Valley public golf courses are also closed.
Water pumps have been in operation at Landy Field since Saturday afternoon and the water is expected to be cleared tonight.
Activities at BVAC will be cancelled for Monday 17 October, with a decision on subsequent days to be made once the facility has been inspected.
All other impacted facilities are being assessed once flood water recedes.
Up-to-date information about impacts to City of Greater Geelong services and facilities will continue to be available at: geelong.link/flooding
Clean-up
As the flood waters recede, the community will begin to see significant debris, as well as damage to roads, such as potholes.
We will carry out a clean-up as quickly as possible but we do ask for patience given the size of the task.
Community members wishing to report debris or road damage can do so by calling our customer service line on 5272 5272 or via our website.
Safety messages
In the interests of safety, the City of Greater Geelong is asking the community to:
- Avoid river water. This includes swimming, fishing, and not using boat ramps if possible;
- Review travel plans both within Geelong and to other parts of the state to ensure your journey is not impacted by flood waters; and
- Never drive, walk or ride through flood water
- Be cautious as snakes have been displaced by the flooding and are seeking higher ground.
- Community members seeking the latest information about the flood situation can visit: emergency.vic.gov.au
The Victorian Government has established a Flood Recovery Hotline to help people find available support: 1800 560 760.
Mayor Peter Murrihy
A big thank you to authorities and volunteers who have worked hard over the past few days in an attempt to keep people and property safe.We are thankful in Geelong that we have not experienced the same degree of damage to residential properties as other parts of the state, and our thoughts are with those all over Victoria who have been impacted.
We are also thinking of the local business operators dealing with the devastation of their commercial properties being inundated.
Alongside emergency services, City staff will assess the impacts on all properties in the coming days and look to identify and connect people with relevant support.
I encourage everyone to stay safe by heeding all safety warnings.
