By Corey Everitt, Matthew Sims & Nick Sinis
Cardinia was the busiest area in Metropolitan Melbourne for the SES on Monday 8 January as a severe downpour flooded roads, damaged roofs, saw creeks transformed into rushing torrents and required four was rescue.
About 48.8 millimetres of rainfall recorded on Monday 8 January led to the wet conditions, with Pakenham SES attending to 76 call outs between Berwick and Bunyip, which would keep them out for over 16 hours from their first call at 1.53am to the finish of their last job at 7.30pm.
They responded to 51 calls out for flooding, seven trees events, and six building damage call-outs.
“It’s definitely one of the busiest days we have had in five years,“ said Pakenham SES deputy controller Shayne Honey.
Statewide, Cardinia was the third busiest area for the SES, behind Bendigo and Kilmore. Narre Warren and Whitehorse SES units were called in to assist efforts.
Road rescues
Four rescues were conducted, one of which was on Greenhills Road in Pakenham for the occupants of a vehicle which got stuck and broke down at approximately 4.30am.
Another occurred on Princes Highway by the intersection with Hope Street, Bunyip when flood waters resulted in a car going into the barrier.
All individuals in both rescues were recovered safely and unharmed.
Just coming out of the exceptional day, Mr Honey wished to remind residents to take precautions in such conditions.
“When people are driving, you must drive to the conditions. Do not drive in flooded roads, it’s not worth the risk to your car or your life,“ he said.
“Around the home you should make sure you are prepared like keeping your gutters clear, if you are in a low-lying area make sure you are checking conditions, stay alert on the VicEmergency website or app and the BOM website. Prepare and monitor.“
Most of all he wished to thank the tireless work of volunteers from Pakenham, Narre Warren and Whitehorse.
“Throughout the day, there were about 30 volunteers responding to calls at any given time,“ Mr Honey said.
“We thank our volunteers, the families for their support and employers for allowing the time off for our members.
“They are out all day away from home and their families for this work.“
Pakenham was the busiest in the Cardinia area, followed close by Bunyip.
Rapid response
A large portion of jobs were responding to houses which needed assistance in preventing flood damage or helping those which had already received damage from the weather conditions.
Toomuc Creek rose significantly due to the rainfall overnight, with videos showing the waterway moving quickly and overflowing.
Lakeside Pakenham also overflowed onto the footpaths, leaving debris and rubbish behind.
Hundreds of call-outs were received by the state’s emergency services, including fallen trees and building damage.
Emergency Management Victoria issued emergency warnings for those in Seymour and Yea, with residents advised to evacuate immediately, while Bendigo residents received a ’watch and act’ alert to move to higher ground.
Traffic trouble
The rain was severe enough to knock out traffic lights. Motorists travelling on Princes Highway mid-morning on Monday were shown flashing yellow at the intersection with Starling Road, after rain seeped into the controller and disabled the system.
Motorists had to rely on each other through the intersection for approximately 90 minutes.
The Department of Transport reported a team was dispatched who had the lights up and running again just after 10.30am.
While during Monday night, Cardinia Road was closed due to flooding south of Wenn Road after a number of vehicles broke down.
A minor flood warning was issued for the Bunyip River on Monday morning prompting the Cora Lynn Ford to close to traffic. Downstream of Iona recorded an average rain of 68mm between 9am Sunday and 5.30pm Monday.
SES said the flood is expected to affect low-lying areas to the river. By Monday evening, the level of Bunyip River at Cora Lynn was at 4.35m, above the minor flood level of 3.1m and was expected to stay above until Wednesday 9 January. Pakenham SES will be monitoring the Bunyip River over the next several days.
