Nathan Spicer looks back at the events and issues from October in The Guardian’s Year in Review series.
Tuesday, October 25
– A community meeting is held at the town hall to update and prepare people for the flood emergency. Representatives from VICSES, Swan Hill Rural City Council and partner agencies were in attendance to answer the concerned queries of the community.
– The CFA District 18 headquarters in Swan Hill became the incident control centre for floods in the region. A spokesperson said that “to see all the services come together to protect Australians in the Aussie spirit is awesome”.
Friday, October 28
– More than 37,000 sandbags were filled in a 48-hour period. Thanks to the efforts of the Swan Hill rapid relief team, rapid sandbagging machine, and community volunteers, a head start on flood preparations was achieved.
– Murray Crayfish walk out of the Murray River due to a localised blackwater event. NSW Fisheries and OZfish collect dozens of crays and move them to holding tanks to await return to the river when it was deemed safe.
