Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor, Councillor Shane Sali has thanked residents for the community spirit and resilience they have shown over the past few days, despite the extremely difficult circumstances.
With flood waters leaving thousands of homes isolated across the region, the community has stepped up to support one another and ensure affected residents have access to food, water and other necessities.
Despite flood waters now slowly starting to recede, Cr Sali reminded residents that there was still a long way to go.
"Seeing the flooding across the region over the past few days has been difficult for everyone. Thousands of properties have been affected by floodwaters in Shepparton, Mooroopna, Murchison, Tatura and our other small towns too," he said.
"While this has been an extremely tough time for us all, residents have remained calm and patient, and the community spirit shown has been unlike no other. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone across Greater Shepparton for helping out in whatever way they can.
"Whether that was through checking in on family, friends and neighbours, helping out with the massive task of filling sandbags, or delivering food and supplies to isolated households – your efforts have been remarkable.
"It is through difficult times like this where our community truly shines. We have shown how resilient our community is and there is no doubt we will now get through the clean-up and recovery phase together."
Rain is expected across the region from Wednesday, which Cr Sali said would mean the recovery efforts would be challenging.
"We are now starting to look at the recovery efforts ahead of us all as the water levels start to recede. We are expecting this to be a huge job with homes, businesses and roads needing assistance," he said.
"While we know this is another challenge we now face, we also know how resilient our community is. It will be all hands on deck during the clean-up efforts and we will require a lot of volunteers.
"We will keep the community informed of when this will start and what assistance is needed. But for now, a big thank you for everyone's efforts of the past few days."
Visit Council's website and Facebook page for the latest information on road closures, water levels and emergency relief centres. To find out how you can help or to register for volunteering, visit Council's How To Help page.
Greater Shepparton City Council and representatives from Emergency Services will be conducting a Community Information Update at 7pm tomorrow, Wednesday 19 October 2022.
The update will be available to view online through a livestream via Council's Facebook page, Council's YouTube channel and website.
