Loddon Shire Mayoral Column 25 October
Published on 25 October 2022
Community update
Relief and recovery efforts within Loddon Shire are continuing, with Council working together with emergency services and government agencies to support our affected communities.
We are now seeing clean-up efforts underway in towns like Newbridge and Bridgewater, and affected businesses start to reopen, which is great to see.
All Loddon communities have been impacted in some form or another, and as we know, there has been a significant impact on our agricultural sector.
At the time of writing, our communities in the north were also still responding to significant water flows.
A relief centre will be set up as the need arises at the Pyramid Hill Senior Citizen Centre, McKay Street, Pyramid Hill.
Emergency relief is available as required – this can be accessed by calling Council on 5494 1200.
Together with Council, I’ve been working with and talking with both Federal and State members with regard to community support with relief funding. The response has been very heartening and Loddon Shire hasn’t been forgotten.
There are still a number of road closures in effect, so please follow the appropriate signage and information.
Council staff are continuing to work hard to get roads safe to reopen. Crews are assessing our sealed roads, putting up traffic warning signs, carrying out temporary repairs if needed and will open roads as soon as possible to get people and freight moving again.
Permanent repairs will take some time and we ask the community be patient as we work through the required claims for funding assistance.
For a full list of road closures, please visit the VicTraffic website.
Huge effort from all
I’d like to congratulate the communities in all affected areas for their tremendous effort in banding together and supporting each other during these tough times.
All our communities have been there for each other. This includes the large number of volunteers who came together and provided amazing support, including tireless efforts to help wherever they were needed – be it helping set up relief centres, sandbagging, building levees, and much more. These volunteers provided hours of support.
We should all feel proud to be part of such a wonderful Loddon community, a community who is there for each other, that knew what needed to be done and made sure it happened.
I’d also like to acknowledge and congratulate Loddon Shire staff, as well as the emergency services response that we’ve seen enact the preparedness throughout the Shire. The emergency response effort here in Loddon Shire has been outstanding. Council has been coordinating through a chain of command via the Incident Control Centre (ICC), through to our emergency services such as SES and CFA groups, too.
They’ve really done a fantastic job in coordinating that effort for our communities and really directing priorities in saving a lot of homes and businesses through the area.
Council meeting today to include flood relief updates
Council’s monthly meeting will be held this afternoon (25 October) at 3pm in the Loddon Shire Council Chambers, located behind the Wedderburn Council Office, off Peters Street.
You can also watch the Council meeting live via Council’s Facebook page.
As part of the meeting, Ward Councillors will be discussing flood recovery and relief efforts – so please tune in for these updates.
To view the October Council Meeting agenda visit Council's website.
Spillway works at Skinners Flat Reservoir completed ahead of schedule
Works on the spillway at Skinners Flat Reservoir, five kilometres north of the Wedderburn township, were accelerated and have been completed ahead of schedule by Council contractors and staff.
Contracted engineers inspected the works at completion and are satisfied that the risk level associated with future rainfall events and spillway flows has been greatly reduced.
Works included widening of the spillway and installation of 1100 tonnes of rock beaching. This was in addition to previous works undertaken, including lowering the spillway wall and installation of 500 tonnes of rock beaching.
You can view before and after photos on Council’s Facebook page.
Flood information page on Council’s website
For more information on Council services, health advice, support and recovery information please visit the dedicated flood information page on Council’s website.
Flood Recovery Hotline – call 1800 560 760
The Flood Recovery Hotline is a single state-wide number, 1800 560 760, that Victorians impacted by the October 2022 floods can call for help or assistance with:
- navigating available supports
- clean-up
- temporary accommodation
- mental health and wellbeing support
The recovery hotline is open from 7.30am to 7.30pm every day.
Emergency Relief Payment
The emergency relief payment is available for community members whose homes have been impacted by the current flood emergency and who need support to meet their relief needs.
Emergency relief assistance is based on a fixed amount for each member of your household (adults and children). Payments are $580 per adult and $290 per child (up to a maximum of $2030 per eligible family).
Find out more.
Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment
The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) is a lump sum payment to help you if you’ve been significantly affected by Victorian Floods in October 2022.
If you’re eligible you’ll get:
$1000 per adult
$400 for each child younger than 16.
Visit Services Australia to find out more.
Primary Producer Flood Relief Program
The Victorian Government is supporting primary producers across Victoria affected by the devastating floods to get back in business, with an initial package of support to help kickstart their relief effort.
The Primary Producer Flood Relief Program will deliver a $10,000 payment to primary producers directly affected by the floods to help them clean up, re-establish their properties, and get their businesses up and running again.
For more information visit the Rural Finance website.
Small Business Immediate Flood Relief Program
Small business owners whose livelihoods have been affected by the floods will also be supported through the $54 million Small Business Immediate Flood Relief Program.
Directly impacted small businesses will be eligible for a one-off payment of $5,000 to support clean-up, safety inspections, repairs, the hiring of equipment and purchase of stock that businesses need to get back in business as quickly as possible.
Visit Business Victoria for more information.