By Jessica Anstice
Pakenham SES members will never forget the trauma of one of the worst flood events a decade ago, which had devastating impacts on the community.
La Nina caused severe flooding in the Cardinia Shire and generated $1.3 billion worth of damage across Victoria between September 2010 and February 2011.
Pakenham State Emergency Service (SES) member Shayne Honey reflected on the hours on end he spent responding to calls for assistance, all while his family home was destroyed.
“I’d just spent a week at the floods in North East Victoria, saving the last remaining public asset in the town of Benjeroop, so I’d seen enough of water,” he recalled.
“I’d been home one night, still getting my gear washed and dried when the rain hit Casey and Cardinia.
“At first, thought it was a bit of flash flooding here and there but quickly realised it was going to be a long couple of days.”
Mr Honey remembers having to tell parents with young children to avoid going to Toomuc Creek to watch the rushing water.
As it was something never before seen, he said some people thought it was a great thing to observe – completely unaware of the danger.
“I remember the panic we felt in speaking to people as we were trying to get from job to job, while others treated it as a bit of fun,” he added.
“The freeway came to a standstill after we received call after call to rescue people from floodwater, sometimes thinking ‘how do we get to them?’”
Pakenham SES headquarters made the tough decision to spark an evacuation for parts of Kooweerup.
“Cardinia was like a big island, water all around us meant it was difficult for other services to get in and help,” he said.
“We were thankful for the help of our friends in local CFA brigades. We did get a couple of army trucks in though.
After days of rescuing people, animals, infrastructure and businesses from floodwater in Casey and Cardinia, Mr Honey returned home to find the ceiling of his house had collapsed.
A decade on, Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said the emergency management sector has learnt a lot and made significant improvements to its emergency flood response to ensure safety of at-risk communities.
“The emergency management sector is committed to continuous enhancements in ensuring Victoria has the best emergency preparedness and response to keep the community safe,” he said.
SES was the first agency to implement recommendations from Black Saturday Royal Commission, including multi-agency Regional Controllers and Deputy Incident Controllers.
Significant improvements have been made to flood mitigation, warnings and response since, with emphasis on including local communities in key decisions and providing timely and clear flood warnings.
