Volunteers from Seymour’s State Emergency Service have recently returned from NSW where they were assisting communities devastated by flood.
They joined colleagues from the North East Region and others from the Country Fire Authority (CFA), Emergency Management Victoria (EMV), and Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic).
North East Region SES operations officer Charlie Sexton said about 20 volunteers were sent to help.
“We had several from Seymour and about 15 from Chiltern, Benalla, Kilmore and Kinglake,” Mr Sexton said.
“We also had members go up from our regional support unit.”
A total of 190 Victorians, including community liaison officers, field storm crew, incident management team personnel, taskforce leaders and jurisdictional support team members, have flown in to assist since March 1.
They have been deployed to areas including Rhodes, Wollongong, metropolitan Sydney and the Northern Rivers.
Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp thanked Victorian emergency services volunteers and staff for their incredible effort.
“Teams across multiple agencies have really come together to help where it is needed most,” he said.
“They can arrive home ... knowing they’ve made a significant contribution to emergency services and the communities in NSW.”
VICSES community liaison officer and taskforce commander Melanie Gill said the team had accomplished a great deal.
“Our community liaison officers achieved so much by working seamlessly with other agencies at community hubs and meetings, visiting homes which had been cut off from services by floodwater, mud and debris to provide material and emotional support, as well as guidance through this difficult time,” Ms Gill said.
CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan said he was extremely proud of the Victorian team which had been working tirelessly to help those in need.
“People in NSW have been experiencing some of the most challenging circumstances of their lives,” Mr Heffernan said.
"The professionalism and care our CFA members, and others, have shown to those affected has been incredible.
“We’re glad to have the team back in Victoria following these deployments and we’re always willing to assist our partner agencies when we can.”
The teams helped those hit worst by the floods, providing information about situational updates, road access, housing, accommodation services and other support services.
A total of 16 water police and search and rescue squads from Victoria Police have also returned following deployment to Lismore, Ballina and metropolitan Sydney areas, where they performed multiple rescues, staged proactive patrols and provided specialist advice on search co-ordination.
Additional support is on the way, with the Victorian Council of Churches Emergencies Ministry to send its inaugural interstate crew on Wednesday.
The team of six will assist the Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network in recovery centres in far-north NSW for about eight days, with subsequent shifts likely to follow.
The flood situation in NSW and Queensland is a reminder that Victorians should connect with official sources of emergency information, including the VicEmergency app, local emergency broadcasters such as ABC local radio, commercial and select community radio stations, or SkyNews TV, or online at www.emergency.vic.gov.au