The Bureau of Meteorology has declared a La Niña is underway, bringing with it a wet spring and summer and the potential for flash and riverine flooding.
Whether you're a local resident or business owner, we want to help you get prepared for the weeks and months ahead.
We have a few suburbs that have historically been prone to flooding.
The last La Niña event saw Camberwell Junction completely flooded and the Solway Pedestrian Bridge washed away during a flooding event in February 2011. Kew, Hawthorn, Camberwell, Glen Iris and Ashburton were also affected by this significant storm.
See the State Emergency Service (SES) Local Flood Guides below for Glen Iris and Camberwell (including Ashburton) and Hawthorn and Hawthorn East to help you get a flood plan in place for your home or business.
Even if you don't live near a waterway or in a low-lying area, flooding can still affect local roads, footpaths and public transport. You may need to detour around a flood-affected area.
As well as building community awareness, we are investing in upgrading and maintaining drainage infrastructure to help reduce our local flooding risk.
In 2020-21, $5.65 million is being spent on works including drainage design work, concrete relining of pipes, and unscheduled emergency works and in 2019-20, we invested $4.298 million in local drainage works.
Flood preparedness activities include modelling to understand flooding hot spots and risks for various storm intensities, as well as developing a drainage asset plan.
We are also hosting a Community Safety Forum on Thursday 29 October, where the SES will be a guest speaker. Register for the forum.
Things to remember:
- Never attempt to drive or walk through floodwater. A car can float in just 15cm of water.
- Download the Vic Emergency app to receive alerts for flood warnings and incidents nearby.
