1. Overview of the Victorian Floods Trevor White Director Operations Victoria State Emergency Service APCO CONFERENCE 2011

2. Lead up to Jan- Feb 2011 Floods  >10 years of drought prior to September 2010 floods  Community desensitized to flood September 2010  Up to 250mm in NE & Alpine areas  Up to 100mm in Western Victoria October, November & December 2010  Further rain events wetting catchments  Some communities impacted multiple times Wettest year since 1974 (5 th wettest on record)

3. January - February 2011 - Rainfall January 9-15  100 – 300mm across two thirds of Victoria  Major – Moderate flooding in North, West & Central Victoria  Wettest start to a year since records began  River height records in Wimmera, Avoca, Loddon & Campaspe catchments exceed previous records February 4-6  Tropical moisture and extreme rainfall across Metro Melbourne  >100 mm in 24hrs over most of metro Melbourne  Mildura 178mm, Lyndhurst 187 mm (48 hrs)  Heavy rain on saturated catchments Wettest Summer on Record

4. Rainfall Totals (mm) – Week Ending 16 Jan 2011

5. Rainfall Totals (mm) – 1 to 17 February 2011

6. Pre Event Community Messaging Strong proactive media campaign Flood & storm info line 1300 VICSES Emergency Management Joint Public Information Committee Pre Briefing of Media Partners & EM broadcasters Variable message signs - major roads Support from senior levels of government Levee owners requested to check integrity Queensland influence Jan 2011

7. RFAs 10 Jan - 7 Feb 2011 4396 430 297 6901 665 2025 Total RFAs 14,763 Total RFAs 14,763

8. Melbourne

9. Mildura

10. Halls Gap

11. Community Information During Event Flood Bulletins Web Site Flood & Storm information line Community meetings ( local and radio) Radio / TV interviews ( daily press conf) Door knocking Emergency Alert

12. Community Information Emergency Alert –76 campaigns –141,955 phones Flood and Storm Information Line –11,589 calls Website

13. Strategic Control Priorities Protection & preservation of life Community warnings & information Protection of  Critical infrastructure & essential services  Residential property  Economic production & livelihoods  Environmental & conservation values Safety & welfare of displaced Effective transition to recovery

14. Command and Control Multi Agency Incident Management Teams EMT - Guidance Planning & Communications Control established at  Incident  Region  State

15. Command & Control

16. Jan- February 2011 Challenges Water storages- many @ 100 % capacity Saturated catchments Rapid response of water courses Limited flood gauging on many rivers and creeks Flood intelligence Widespread flash flooding Prolonged flooding Flood fatigued communities Evacuation and isolation

17. Levees - Maintenance & Ownership Many levees constructed 100 +yrs ago Complex system over vast flood plains Extensive lakes storage system Kerang - Swan Hill

18. Community Impacts Municipalities - 27 (Jan) 8 (Feb) Townships - 97 (Jan) 43 (Feb) Buildings - 3,355 (Jan) 936 (Feb) People Impacted - 7,625 (Jan) 1,902 (Feb) 51 Relief Centres Registrations – 6,458 (Jan) 3,355 (Feb)

19. Community Consequences Major damage to agriculture Road & rail infrastructure Impacts on downstream industries Water & sewerage Loss of utility services Isolation

20. Opportunities Multi agency incident management & Interoperabilty Use of flood consultants Use of Emergency Alert Intelligence & Social Media Impact assessment

21. Thanks for your Attention Observations & Questions