2011 Victorian floods
Encyclopedia
High intensity rainfall between 12–14 January 2011 caused major flooding across much of the western and central parts of the Australian state of Victoria
. Several follow-up heavy rainfall events including Tropical Low Yasi caused repeated flash flooding in affected areas in early February in many of the communities affected by January's floods.
Many of the towns were previously affected by floods in September 2010
, however the 2011 event was more severe, affecting at least four times as many properties with thousands of evacuations being called for by the State Emergency Service
. As of 18 January, more than 51 communities had been affected by the floods. A total of over 1,730 properties had been flooded. Over 17,000 homes lost their electricity supply. The floods forced VicRoads
to close hundreds of roads; and train services were also disrupted. The floods devastated farms with 51,700 hectares of pasture and 41,200 hectares of field crops flooded and 6,106 sheep killed. The Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Victorian Farmers Union initially estimated that damages would amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, however the Department of Primary Industries later calculated a damage bill of up to A$
2 billion.
Kevin Parkyn, a senior forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology said "Victoria is experiencing one of its worst flood events in its history" after "a week in which rainfall totals have been smashed in parts of Victoria". Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Terry Ryan said "It's the worst flood in western Victoria in their history as far as our records go in terms of the depth of water and the number of places affected". The Premier of Victoria, Ted Ballieu has described it as "one of the biggest floods in the state's history".
event since 1973 which fuelled the extensive flooding across Victoria in September 2010
, brought wetter conditions across eastern Australia including the 2010-2011 Queensland floods. An already soaked state had the wettest January in its recorded history in January 2011.
A deepening low pressure trough
over south-east Australia, fed with tropical moisture from the monsoon
trough over northern Australia, resulted in record levels of humidity for Victoria (over 96%). Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms formed across the state as well as northern Tasmania, southern New South Wales and eastern parts of South Australia.
During the downpour across the state flash flooding occurred in places such as Halls Gap and Beaufort
resulting in damage to businesses and homes. However it was not until the downpour began to subside (and fair weather returned) that the accumulated water caused waterways across the region gradually to swell. As waterways began to break their banks, evacuations were called. Despite clearing conditions, flooding continued to spread during January and into February 2011 as it developed into what was increasingly described by the media as an "inland sea" across agricultural north-west Victoria.
temporarily closed all passenger services.
On 5 February, the death of a man after falling of the roof of his Glen Waverley home trying to stem a leak was attributed to the flash flooding.
(ADF) assisted the Victorian State Emergency Service
(VICSES) from 14 January 2011.
The South Australian State Emergency Service
sent a deployment team over to the emergency base in Horsham
working up North along the Yarriambiack Creek
. The 20 person team made up from units in Adelaide
, Mt. Gambier, Murray Bridge, Renmark, Berri
and Keith
spent 5 days assisting the Victorian SES between 18 January 2011 and 22 January 2011.
Premier Ted Ballieu toured flood affected areas on 17 January, announcing an A$
7 million relief package, including a A$5 million clean-up fund and a A$1 million public appeal coordinated by the Red Cross. On 18 January, the Federal Government pledged A$4 million in relief funds.
Three platoons from Victoria’s 4th Reserve Response Force (4RRF), under the command of Headquarters 4th Brigade, has been conducting Rapid Impact Assessments (RIA) on townships identified by VICSES since 20 January, to provide information on the impact of the floods on community and private infrastructure.
ADF personnel delivered relief items including almost 200,000 sandbags, various emergency stores, fuel, sand, water and bedding to a number of communities in the flood-affected region. In addition, a RAAF aircraft transported 76,000 ADF sandbags from Townsville and Brisbane to Melbourne on 22–23 January.
By 24 January, RIAs have been completed for the town of Charlton, Hamilton, Glenorchy, Halls Gap, Rochester, Bridgewater, Carisbrook, Dunolly, Clunes, Creswick, Appin South, Kerang West, Skipton, Newbridge and Horsham.
On 24 January the ADF committed two Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Seahawk helicopters for providing support to Victorian flood relief and recovery efforts in addition to approximately 100 personnel and more than 40 land vehicles.
The Prime Minister of Australia
, Julia Gillard
toured flood affected areas from 28 January. Victorian Premier Ted Ballieu publicly criticised the Prime Minister for forgetting her home state while she pushed for a controversial flood levy
to repair Queensland's flood damage.
In March 2011, The Queen's eldest grandson, Prince William, toured the affected areas in Victoria, as well as those damaged by the floods in Queensland
.
In April 2011, Scouts Australia's Victorian Branch
replaced it's traditional Hoadley Hide hiking event with the Hoadley Project, where hundreds of Venturer and Rover Scouts assisted residents of Charlton
, Rochester
and Murrabit
in the continuing cleanup effort.
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. Several follow-up heavy rainfall events including Tropical Low Yasi caused repeated flash flooding in affected areas in early February in many of the communities affected by January's floods.
Many of the towns were previously affected by floods in September 2010
2010 Victorian floods
The 2010 Victorian floods were a widespread series of flood events across the state of Victoria, Australia. The floods, which followed heavy rain across southeastern Australia in early September 2010, caused the inundation of about 250 homes, hundreds of evacuations and millions of dollars of...
, however the 2011 event was more severe, affecting at least four times as many properties with thousands of evacuations being called for by the State Emergency Service
State Emergency Service
A State Emergency Service is an Australian volunteer organisation that provides emergency help during and after declared disasters. The SES is also the primary or secondary agency for emergencies, such as storm damage,flood damage, building damage, traffic hazards and road crash rescue...
. As of 18 January, more than 51 communities had been affected by the floods. A total of over 1,730 properties had been flooded. Over 17,000 homes lost their electricity supply. The floods forced VicRoads
VicRoads
VicRoads or the Roads Corporation of Victoria is a statutory corporation which is the state road and traffic authority in the state of Victoria, Australia. It is responsible for maintenance and construction of the state arterial road network, as well as driver licensing and vehicle registration. ...
to close hundreds of roads; and train services were also disrupted. The floods devastated farms with 51,700 hectares of pasture and 41,200 hectares of field crops flooded and 6,106 sheep killed. The Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Victorian Farmers Union initially estimated that damages would amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, however the Department of Primary Industries later calculated a damage bill of up to A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
2 billion.
Kevin Parkyn, a senior forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology said "Victoria is experiencing one of its worst flood events in its history" after "a week in which rainfall totals have been smashed in parts of Victoria". Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Terry Ryan said "It's the worst flood in western Victoria in their history as far as our records go in terms of the depth of water and the number of places affected". The Premier of Victoria, Ted Ballieu has described it as "one of the biggest floods in the state's history".
Background
The strongest La NiñaLa Niña
La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. During a period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C...
event since 1973 which fuelled the extensive flooding across Victoria in September 2010
2010 Victorian floods
The 2010 Victorian floods were a widespread series of flood events across the state of Victoria, Australia. The floods, which followed heavy rain across southeastern Australia in early September 2010, caused the inundation of about 250 homes, hundreds of evacuations and millions of dollars of...
, brought wetter conditions across eastern Australia including the 2010-2011 Queensland floods. An already soaked state had the wettest January in its recorded history in January 2011.
A deepening low pressure trough
Trough (meteorology)
A trough is an elongated region of relatively low atmospheric pressure, often associated with fronts.Unlike fronts, there is not a universal symbol for a trough on a weather chart. The weather charts in some countries or regions mark troughs by a line. In the United States, a trough may be marked...
over south-east Australia, fed with tropical moisture from the monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
trough over northern Australia, resulted in record levels of humidity for Victoria (over 96%). Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms formed across the state as well as northern Tasmania, southern New South Wales and eastern parts of South Australia.
During the downpour across the state flash flooding occurred in places such as Halls Gap and Beaufort
Beaufort, Victoria
Beaufort is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Western Highway midway between Ararat and Ballarat, in the Pyrenees Shire local government area. It is 387 metres above sea level. At the 2001 census, Beaufort had a population of 987...
resulting in damage to businesses and homes. However it was not until the downpour began to subside (and fair weather returned) that the accumulated water caused waterways across the region gradually to swell. As waterways began to break their banks, evacuations were called. Despite clearing conditions, flooding continued to spread during January and into February 2011 as it developed into what was increasingly described by the media as an "inland sea" across agricultural north-west Victoria.
Early warning and evacuation
Rising rivers lead to evacuations in many other towns in central and western Victoria-
- AllansfordAllansford, VictoriaAllansford is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. It is in the City of Warrnambool local government area. The Hopkins River flows through the town.-History:The Post Office opened on 1 January 1860...
& Jubilee Park, Victoria - 10 people evacuated on 16 January to Archie Graham Centre. Frank Street and Station Street sandbagged. - CharltonCharlton, VictoriaCharlton "The Friendly River Town", is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is a small agricultural community straddling the Avoca River, located at the junction of the Calder Highway and Borung Highway and positioned in the last of the foothills of the Great Dividing Range...
evacuated to DonaldDonald, VictoriaDonald is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Richardson River, at the junction of Sunraysia Highway and Borung Highway, in the Shire of Buloke. The town is named after William Donald, a Scottish pastoralist who was the first settler in the area in 1844... - GlenorchyGlenorchy, VictoriaGlenorchy is a town in the Wimmera district of the Australian state of Victoria. The town in located in the Northern Grampians Shire and on the Wimmera River, north-west of the state capital, Melbourne....
- RupanyupRupanyup, VictoriaRupanyup is a small town in rural Victoria, Australia. As of the 2006 census it had a population of 624. The name Rupanyup is an Aboriginal word meaning 'branch hanging over water'....
- CarisbrookCarisbrook, VictoriaCarisbrook is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Pyrenees Highway, east of the regional and local government centre of Maryborough, in the Shire of Central Goldfields...
- 1,000 evacuated to MaryboroughMaryborough, Victoria-Education:Maryborough has three schools:*Highview Christian Community College*Maryborough Education Centre Years Prep–12*St Augustine's Primary School Grades Prep–6-Music:... - CreswickCreswick, VictoriaCreswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 129 km northwest of Melbourne, in Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census, Creswick had a population of 2,485...
- Halls Gap
- Kerang
- Quambatook
- Warracknabeal
- Quantong
- Dimboola
- Jeparit
- Kerang - 224 residents evacuated
- HorshamHorsham, VictoriaHorsham is the largest city by population and regional centre of the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia and is approximately north-west of Melbourne via the Western Highway. At the 2006 census, Horsham had a population of 14,125. Horsham is in the federal Division of Mallee...
- 1,000 households told to evacuate - Cohuna
- BarhamBarham-Places:England*Barham, Cambridgeshire*Barham, Suffolk*Barham, KentAustralia*Barham, New South Wales-People:* Baron Barham, any of several, most notably:** Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham , Royal Navy admiral and politician...
- BeulahBeulah, VictoriaBeulah is a town in the southern Mallee region of Victoria, Australia. The town is located in Shire of Yarriambiack Local Government Area, 395 kilometres north west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Beulah had a population of 219....
- Dimboola
- NelsonNelson, VictoriaNelson is a small fishing town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on at the mouth of the Glenelg River and on Discovery Bay, a few kilometres from the South Australian border, and west of Melbourne...
- Allansford
Major Waterways affected
- Wimmera RiverWimmera RiverThe Wimmera River is a river in Western Victoria, Australia. It begins in the Pyrenees, and flows into Lake Hindmarsh and Lake Albacutya, although in many years flows do not reach these terminal lakes and the river contracts to a series of pools of varying sizes...
- Loddon RiverLoddon RiverThe Loddon River is a 392-km long tributary of the Murray River that flows through central and northern Victoria, Australia. The river rises near Trentham and flows by Glenlyon. It then flows generally northward through Guildford and Newstead, 40 km west of Bendigo through the Cairn Curran...
- Campaspe RiverCampaspe RiverThe Campaspe River is a river in Victoria, Australia. It was named by Major Mitchell in 1836 for Campaspe, a mistress of Alexander the Great.The river was known as yalooka by the local aboriginal people of the Rochester area.-Course:...
- Avoca RiverAvoca RiverThe Avoca River drains a substantial part of Victoria, the southernmost state of mainland Australia. The river rises at the foot of Mount Lonarch in the Central Highlands near the small town of Amphitheatre, and flows north for 270 km through Avoca, Charlton and Quambatook...
- Hopkins RiverHopkins RiverThe Hopkins River is a river in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It begins near Ararat, and enters Bass Strait at Warrnambool. It is one of two rivers flowing through Warrnambool, the other is the Merri River....
- Werribee RiverWerribee RiverThe Werribee River is located on the plain west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The headwaters of a tributary, the Lerderderg River, are north of Ballan near Daylesford and it flows across the basalt plain, through the suburb of Werribee to enter Port Phillip. A linear park follows the Werribee...
- Goulburn RiverGoulburn River (Victoria)The Goulburn River is a major inland river in Victoria, Australia.The headwaters of the Goulburn River rise in the western end of the Victoria Alps, near Mount Buller. The Eildon Dam creates Lake Eildon, a major storage of water for irrigation...
- Yarra RiverYarra RiverThe Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
- Mount Emu CreekMount Emu CreekMount Emu Creek is a long but small meandering waterway located in the west of Victoria. The total length of the Mount Emu Creek is over 250 kilometres. The creek forms near Trawalla, and Trawalla Creek flows to Mount Emu Creek , the quantity and quality of water from Trawalla Creek is of great...
- Yarriambiack CreekYarriambiack CreekYarriambiack Creek, a distributary of the Wimmera River, leaves the river near Drung Drung, about 20 kilometres east of Horsham, and flows northwards about 140 kilometres through Warracknabeal, ending in Lake Coorong just east of Hopetoun. Its flow is intermittent and depends almost entirely on the...
- Yarrowee RiverYarrowee RiverYarrowee is a major tributary and catchment of the Barwon River in Victoria, Australia. The river's origins are in the hills at Gong Gong, and it is notable for passing through the settlement of Ballarat and crossing the City of Ballarat local government area before becoming the Leigh River in the...
- Glenelg RiverGlenelg River (Victoria)The Glenelg River is a river in southwestern Victoria and southeastern South Australia in Australia. The river starts in the Grampian Ranges and runs for over 350 kilometres, making it the longest river in south-west Victoria. A short stretch of the lower end winds through South Australia before...
Settlements affected
- BeaufortBeaufort, VictoriaBeaufort is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Western Highway midway between Ararat and Ballarat, in the Pyrenees Shire local government area. It is 387 metres above sea level. At the 2001 census, Beaufort had a population of 987...
- creeks running to Lake Beaufort broke their banks, flooding the town's main street and over 70 houses
- Ballarat - record rainfall in Ballarat (95 millimetres) caused flooding in the Yarrowee catchment. 20 houses were flooded across the urban area including 10 houses in the outer suburb of Miners Rest as the Burrumbeet Creek overflowed as well as properties in AlfredtonAlfredton, VictoriaAlfredton is a rural-urban fringe suburb west of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The population at the 2006 census was 5,796 making it the fourth most populated in the Ballarat urban area.Alfredton is located west of Lake Wendouree along Sturt Street...
and DelacombeDelacombe, VictoriaDelacombe is a large and rapidly growing industrial/residential suburb on the south west rural-urban fringe of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The population at the 2006 census was 3,811 making it the sixth most populated in the Ballarat urban area....
. The first spill-over of Lake WendoureeLake WendoureeLake Wendouree is an artificially-created and maintained shallow urban lake located in the suburb of the same name in the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia...
since 2002 occurred after it had been artificially filled in 2010 filled since drying up due to drought in 2007. The Yarrowee River and Creswick Creek were severely swelled but without causing major damage. - Bridgewater on LoddonBridgewater On Loddon, VictoriaBridgewater On Loddon is a town in north central Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Calder Highway, north west of Bendigo, astride the Loddon River. At the 2006 census, Bridgewater On Loddon had a population of 391...
- two flood peaks were experienced, the first on the 14 January and the second the following day. The floodwaters affected around 50 houses, as well as the police station, caravan park, hotel and other businesses. - CarisbrookCarisbrook, VictoriaCarisbrook is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Pyrenees Highway, east of the regional and local government centre of Maryborough, in the Shire of Central Goldfields...
- covered by "four or five feet" of water and a total of 275 houses flooded. - CharltonCharlton, VictoriaCharlton "The Friendly River Town", is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is a small agricultural community straddling the Avoca River, located at the junction of the Calder Highway and Borung Highway and positioned in the last of the foothills of the Great Dividing Range...
- more than 400 houses were flooded. An electrical substationElectrical substationA substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions...
was also affected, which caused power outages to 8,000 properties in the surrounding towns. - CreswickCreswick, VictoriaCreswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 129 km northwest of Melbourne, in Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census, Creswick had a population of 2,485...
- evacuated after the Creswick Creek breached its banks flooding the town centre. 35 houses and businesses were breached by water in the largest flood in the town's recorded history. - Echuca - 200 non-levee protected houses were flooded as waters peaked on 16 January
- Halls Gap - evacuated after flash flooding and landslides threatened to cut off the town.
- Horsham - flood waters divided the town in two and flooded 600 houses. Areas close to the centre of town are under up to a metre of water. Flooding has been described as a one-in-200-year event.
- KerangKerang, VictoriaKerang is a rural town on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture, lucerne and grain. It is located north-west of Melbourne on the Murray Valley Highway a few kilometres north of its intersection...
- Levee failed on 19 January, causing widespread flooding affecting nearly 4,000 people - MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
- flash flooding swelled the Yarra RiverYarra RiverThe Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
(breaking its banks at South Yarra) and Maribyrnong RiverMaribyrnong riverThe Maribyrnong River rises about 50 km north of Melbourne, Victoria , near Mount Macedon. It flows generally southward and combines with the Yarra River to flow into Port Phillip....
; flash flooding closed roads at FootscrayFootscray, VictoriaFootscray is a suburb 5 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Footscray had a population of 11,401....
, South MelbourneSouth Melbourne, VictoriaSouth Melbourne is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne...
, North Melbourne, St KildaSt Kilda, VictoriaSt Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
, ResearchResearch, VictoriaResearch is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Nillumbik. At the 2006 Census, Research had a population of 2379.-History:...
, TarneitTarneit, VictoriaTarneit is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Wyndham....
and MaribyrnongMaribyrnong, VictoriaMaribyrnong is a suburb 8 km north-west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong, part of River Ward. At the 2006 Census, Maribyrnong had a population of 8242....
. During 7 February event, Melbourne's south eastern suburbs were flash flooded including Glen WaverleyGlen Waverley, VictoriaGlen Waverley is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 19 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Monash...
, Narre WarrenNarre Warren, VictoriaNarre Warren is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 42 km south east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Casey. At the 2006 Census, Narre Warren had a population of 25,667. Narre Warren has a population density of over 2000 people per square...
, PakenhamPakenham, VictoriaPakenham is a satellite suburb of Melbourne on the edge of the West Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is Cardinia Shire. At the 2006 Census, Pakenham had a population of 19,644...
, Koo Wee RupKoo Wee Rup, VictoriaKoo Wee Rup is a town in Victoria, Australia, 63 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Cardinia...
and BerwickBerwick, VictoriaBerwick is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Casey. At the 2006 Census, Berwick had a population of 36,420....
. - NewbridgeNewbridge, VictoriaNewbridge is a town in central Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Loddon River and in the Shire of Loddon Local Government Area, north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Newbridge had a population of 476....
- floods caused major damage to the Newbridge Recreation Reserve. - RochesterRochester, VictoriaRochester is a small town in country Victoria, Australia. It is located 180 km north of Melbourne with a mixture of rural and semi-rural communities on the northern Campaspe River, between Bendigo and the Murray River port of Echuca...
- worst floods in its history with around 200 houses, representing 80% of the community, inundated. - SerpentineSerpentine, VictoriaSerpentine is a town in north west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Loddon Valley Highway, the town is 201 kilometres north west of the state capital, Melbourne and 51 kilometres north west of the regional centre, Bendigo...
- SheppartonShepparton, VictoriaShepparton is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in the north east of Victoria, Australia approximately north-east of Melbourne. It is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The estimated population of Shepparton's statistical area is 48,926.It began as a sheep station...
(and MooroopnaMooroopna, VictoriaMooroopna is a rural town located north of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the banks of the Goulburn River opposite the larger town of Shepparton. The Midland Highway crosses the river between the two towns...
) - over 50 houses flooded and 500 houses isolated - SkiptonSkipton, VictoriaSkipton is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is situated on the Glenelg Highway 166 kilometres west of the state capital, Melbourne and 52 kilometres south west of the regional centre, Ballarat. Part of Corangamite Shire Local government area, Skipton is on the banks...
- split in two by 1 metres (3.3 ft) of water through the main street of town, flooding the pub, supermarket and pharmacy a total of 9 houses and 20 businesses were flooded The town was previously affected by the 2010 Victorian floods. - Swan Hill
- WarracknabealWarracknabeal, VictoriaWarracknabeal is a wheatbelt town in the Australian state of Victoria. Situated on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek, 330 km north-west of Melbourne, it is the business and services centre of the northern Wimmera and southern Mallee districts, and hosts local government offices of the Shire...
Road Closures
- Calder HighwayCalder HighwayCalder Highway is a Highway linking Ravenswood South in Victoria, to Mildura. North of the Victoria/New South Wales border, the highway continues north to Broken Hill, Tibooburra and the New South Wales/Queensland border as the Silver City Highway, under the standard national route shield as far...
(Marong) - Pyrenees HighwayPyrenees HighwayPyrenees Highway in western Victoria, Australia is a 206 kilometre highway serving to link the Calder Highway in Elphinstone with the Glenelg Highway in Glenthompson...
(between Newstead and the Castlemaine-Maldon Rd) - Wimmera HighwayWimmera HighwayWimmera Highway is a 345 kilometre highway that connects the towns of Marong, Victoria and Naracoorte, South Australia, through the major junctions of Sunraysia Highway, Henty Highway and Western Highway.-See also:*Highways in Australia*Highways in Victoria...
(between NewbridgeNewbridge, VictoriaNewbridge is a town in central Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Loddon River and in the Shire of Loddon Local Government Area, north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Newbridge had a population of 476....
, LoganLoganLogan was a Native American leader.Logan may also refer to:- Australia :* Logan City, a local government area in Queensland* Electoral district of Logan, an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly...
and St Arnaud) - All roads to Kerang
- Murray Valley HighwayMurray Valley HighwayThe Murray Valley Highway is a popular tourist route, which follows the south side of the Murray River in Victoria, Australia. The route effectively acts as the northern-most highway in Victoria...
(between Cohuna and Swan Hill) - Princes HighwayPrinces HighwayThe Princes Highway extends from Sydney to Port Augusta via the coast through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, a distance of 1941 km or 1898 km via the former alignments of the highway ....
(between Ayresford Road and the Great Ocean RoadGreat Ocean RoadThe Great Ocean Road is a stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I...
) - Sunraysia HighwaySunraysia HighwayThe Sunraysia Highway , is a important north-south route in western Victoria. The highway extends north a length of 331 km from the Western Highway near Ballarat to the Calder Highway near Ouyen....
(both directions at Lexton)
Rail Closures
V/LineV/Line
V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...
temporarily closed all passenger services.
- Swan Hill railway line
- Echuca railway line
- Ararat V/Line rail service
- Maryborough railway line
Power Outages
The flooding caused power outages across the state including areas supplied by the Charlton Zone Substation which was directly affected by rising waters.- Bendigo
- Ballarat and BallanBallan, VictoriaBallan is a small town in the state of Victoria, Australia located on the Werribee River north west of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Ballan had a population of 1,807.It is the main administrative centre for the Shire of Moorabool Local Government Area....
(2,100 homes) - Kyneton
- Swan Hill (2,400 homes) on 20 January
- GisborneGisborne, VictoriaGisborne is a town located approximately northwest of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As it is close to Melbourne, but in attractive countryside, it is proving an increasingly popular place to settle. The town was named after Henry Fyshe Gisborne , the first Commissioner for Crown Lands of the...
(500 homes) - MacedonMacedon, VictoriaMacedon is a town on the Calder Freeway between Melbourne and Bendigo in the Macedon Ranges in central Victoria, Australia. It is in the Local Government Area of the Shire of Macedon Ranges, and is located at the foot of Mount Macedon, a peak to the north....
and Woodend, VictoriaWoodend, VictoriaWoodend is a small town in Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Macedon Ranges Local government area. It is bypassed to the east and north by the Calder Freeway and is located about halfway between Melbourne and Bendigo...
(1700 homes) - MaldonMaldon, VictoriaMaldon is a town in Victoria, Australia, in the Shire of Mount Alexander local government area. It has been designated "Australia's first notable town" and is celebrated for its 19th-century appearance, maintained since gold-rush days...
- WedderburnWedderburn, VictoriaWedderburn is a rural town located in Victoria, Australia on the Calder Highway north of Victoria's capital city, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Wedderburn had a population of 704...
- St Arnaud
- DonaldDonald, VictoriaDonald is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Richardson River, at the junction of Sunraysia Highway and Borung Highway, in the Shire of Buloke. The town is named after William Donald, a Scottish pastoralist who was the first settler in the area in 1844...
- BirchipBirchip, VictoriaBirchip is a town in the Mallee region of Victoria, Australia on the Sunraysia Highway north of Donald. The town is located in the Shire of Buloke Local Government Area. At the 2006 census Birchip had a population of 822...
- WycheproofWycheproof, VictoriaWycheproof is a small regional locality in the centre of the Shire of Buloke, in north western Victoria, Australia. As of the 2006 census, it had a population of 686...
- BoortBoort, VictoriaBoort is a town in Victoria, Australia, located next to Lake Boort, in the Shire of Loddon. At the 2006 census, Boort had a population of 773. The town is known for its native birdlife...
Deaths
On 18 January, a police diver found the body of a boy who went missing in a flooded billabong, off the Goulburn River, on 17 January at Shepparton in north-east Victoria.On 5 February, the death of a man after falling of the roof of his Glen Waverley home trying to stem a leak was attributed to the flash flooding.
Response
The Australian Defence ForceAustralian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
(ADF) assisted the Victorian State Emergency Service
State Emergency Service
A State Emergency Service is an Australian volunteer organisation that provides emergency help during and after declared disasters. The SES is also the primary or secondary agency for emergencies, such as storm damage,flood damage, building damage, traffic hazards and road crash rescue...
(VICSES) from 14 January 2011.
The South Australian State Emergency Service
State Emergency Service
A State Emergency Service is an Australian volunteer organisation that provides emergency help during and after declared disasters. The SES is also the primary or secondary agency for emergencies, such as storm damage,flood damage, building damage, traffic hazards and road crash rescue...
sent a deployment team over to the emergency base in Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
working up North along the Yarriambiack Creek
Yarriambiack Creek
Yarriambiack Creek, a distributary of the Wimmera River, leaves the river near Drung Drung, about 20 kilometres east of Horsham, and flows northwards about 140 kilometres through Warracknabeal, ending in Lake Coorong just east of Hopetoun. Its flow is intermittent and depends almost entirely on the...
. The 20 person team made up from units in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Mt. Gambier, Murray Bridge, Renmark, Berri
Berri, South Australia
Berri is a town in the Riverland region of South Australia. It is 238 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia. It is primarily an agricultural and viticultural town on the north bank of the Murray River...
and Keith
Keith, South Australia
Keith is a small farming town in the south-east of South Australia. It is approximately 225 km from Adelaide at the junction of the Dukes Highway and the Riddoch Highway. It is sometimes referred to as the 'lucerne capital of Australia' due to the high number of lucerne growers in the region...
spent 5 days assisting the Victorian SES between 18 January 2011 and 22 January 2011.
Premier Ted Ballieu toured flood affected areas on 17 January, announcing an A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
7 million relief package, including a A$5 million clean-up fund and a A$1 million public appeal coordinated by the Red Cross. On 18 January, the Federal Government pledged A$4 million in relief funds.
Three platoons from Victoria’s 4th Reserve Response Force (4RRF), under the command of Headquarters 4th Brigade, has been conducting Rapid Impact Assessments (RIA) on townships identified by VICSES since 20 January, to provide information on the impact of the floods on community and private infrastructure.
ADF personnel delivered relief items including almost 200,000 sandbags, various emergency stores, fuel, sand, water and bedding to a number of communities in the flood-affected region. In addition, a RAAF aircraft transported 76,000 ADF sandbags from Townsville and Brisbane to Melbourne on 22–23 January.
By 24 January, RIAs have been completed for the town of Charlton, Hamilton, Glenorchy, Halls Gap, Rochester, Bridgewater, Carisbrook, Dunolly, Clunes, Creswick, Appin South, Kerang West, Skipton, Newbridge and Horsham.
On 24 January the ADF committed two Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Seahawk helicopters for providing support to Victorian flood relief and recovery efforts in addition to approximately 100 personnel and more than 40 land vehicles.
The Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
toured flood affected areas from 28 January. Victorian Premier Ted Ballieu publicly criticised the Prime Minister for forgetting her home state while she pushed for a controversial flood levy
Flood levy
The Flood Levy is a temporary reconstruction tax that will fund the reconstruction of Queensland, Australia, following the 2010-2011 Queensland Floods. The proposal passed Parliament on 22 March 2011. This levy will apply to everyone who has a taxable income of more than $50,000 a year, and will...
to repair Queensland's flood damage.
In March 2011, The Queen's eldest grandson, Prince William, toured the affected areas in Victoria, as well as those damaged by the floods in Queensland
2010–2011 Queensland floods
A series of floods hit Australia, beginning in December 2010, primarily in the state of Queensland including its capital city, Brisbane. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least seventy towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was...
.
In April 2011, Scouts Australia's Victorian Branch
Scouting in Victoria
Scouting and Guiding in Victoria, a State of Australia, is predominantly represented by the state branch of Scouts Australia and Girl Guides Victoria, a member of Girl Guides Australia.-Scouts Australia - Victorian Branch:...
replaced it's traditional Hoadley Hide hiking event with the Hoadley Project, where hundreds of Venturer and Rover Scouts assisted residents of Charlton
Charlton, Victoria
Charlton "The Friendly River Town", is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is a small agricultural community straddling the Avoca River, located at the junction of the Calder Highway and Borung Highway and positioned in the last of the foothills of the Great Dividing Range...
, Rochester
Rochester, Victoria
Rochester is a small town in country Victoria, Australia. It is located 180 km north of Melbourne with a mixture of rural and semi-rural communities on the northern Campaspe River, between Bendigo and the Murray River port of Echuca...
and Murrabit
Murrabit, Victoria
Murrabit is a town in north east Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Murray River, from the state capital, Melbourne and from Swan Hill...
in the continuing cleanup effort.