Times are tough at the moment for almost all of northern Victoria, with there being major flooding across the towns of Barmah, Echuca, Kerang and Shepparton. There are also minor or moderate levels of flooding occurring for almost the rest of the state, not that you need us to tell you this!
Unfortunately, the end of these high flow conditions still appears to be some time away with The Bureau of Meteorology, declaring that the next three months (till February 2023) it is likely that the east coast will receive higher levels of rainfall than average.
This is due to the affects of a negative Indian Ocean Dipole (bringing above-average rainfall to Western and Southern Australia) coupled with a third consecutive La Nina (bringing above average rainfall to Northern and Eastern Australia).
With dam storages across the Murray-Darling Basin reaching record levels, historical spill events occurring and the soil not able to absorb any more water, high flow events are expected to continue. With several sections of Northern Victorian rivers having flows exceed 75,000 ML/day.
Farmers and irrigators across these flood ravaged areas have told Waterfind just how disastrous the impacts have been for them, not just now but the lasting long term affects it will have on them, their families and their community.
Many farmers have seen their crops go underwater, livestock stranded and not be able to care for them, business and homes flooded, and years of blood, sweat and tears washed away.
At Waterfind we are hearing so many of these experiences and it breaks our hearts that this is so little we can do. If however there is anything we can do, please let us know, we care about our clients, many of whom we would call friends.
If you or somebody you know needs assistance, big or small, follow the below links to find suitable assistance, and please be safe and support one another.
Flood Assistant Services
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/victorian-floods-october-2022-disaster-recovery-allowance
https://www.vic.gov.au/october-2022-flood-recovery
https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/farm-management/emergency-management/floods/flood-advice-and-support
