HUNDREDS of concerned community members gathered at the Swan Hill Town Hall on Monday evening to get a clearer understanding of flood risks to the local area.
A panel of speakers from various organisations spoke about key issues.
Control agency operations manager Jim O’Donnell said the point of the meeting was to provide an overview of what the current situation is and the prediction of what might be coming down the river over the next few weeks.
“At this stage we can advise that floodwaters from the Campaspe and Goulburn rivers have combined, and flow down those rivers have caused major flooding at Echuca,” Mr O’Donnell said.
“River levels at Echuca Wharf have exceeded the October 1993 flood levels of 94.77m and reached 94.92m on Monday.
“So as this flood peaks, major flooding is possible along the Murray River at Swan Hill, which may exceed the minor flood level of 4.5m around the 27th to 30th of October. It may also reach major flood level at 4.7m during the first week of November.
“As we know, it will be very similar to 1993 flood levels, however no two floods are exactly the same.”
Maps of Beverford, Lake Boga, Nyah and Swan Hill were provided at the meeting, with blue shaded areas representing what hydrologists estimate was the extent of the 1993 flood.
James Kellerman from Mallee CMA, a government run entity that work on flood intelligence, said work had been done alongside agencies such as the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) to create mapping.
“The BOM is suggesting that we may have a (similar flood to 1993), but unfortunately we haven’t got good aerial imagery of the 1993 flood, so our hydrologists have done a lot of work in the mid-Murray flood study to produce the maps that are up the front tonight,” Mr Kellerman said.
“It is not entirely accurate, so don’t think 'oh gosh I am in that blue dot so I’ve got a big problem'. It’s a tool for you to say 'OK, here are the potential impacts that have been predicted at this point in time from the BOM'.”
Mr Kellerman said it was hoped a more accurate flood map could be produced over the coming days and weeks.
“Our hydrologists and the ICC (Incident Control Centre) are working with the BOM every single day to refine those forecasts,” he said.
“In the next few days we hope to have a much more reliable product to predict the heights in our area, but in none of those circumstances at the moment is there any impact predicted in the township of Swan Hill, it is the more outlying areas, and the best prediction at this point is in the order on the 1993 floods.”
Swan Hill Police Inspector Gerard de Vries reminded people not to drive through floodwaters and to be particularly wary of open and closed roads.
“One of the things we have found is that as the water moves around, you will find that a road is open in the morning and you will return in the afternoon and it is covered in water,” Insp de Vries said.
“So you need to be really conscious about that.”
Insp de Vries also told community members to save ringing 000 for life-threatening situations only, and to use other resources if you are seeking information.
Currently, sandbags were only available for community members in at-risk areas from 4pm to 8pm, Tuesday to Friday, from the Lake Boga Community Centre, the rear of the Beverford Tavern and Ken Harrison Reserve in Swan Hill.
To access the maps of the predicted flooding and the community newsletter that was given to those in attendance at the meeting, go to the Swan Hill Rural City Council website.
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