The rush before the storm for Rochester

The Criterion, on the corner of Mackay and Gillies streets, has been owned by Mr Mann and his wife for about 18 months, opening a week before COVID-19 lockdowns.

He said he built frames and shut all seven doors to the pub with silicone on Tuesday, and was planning to ride out the flood in the dining room, which is elevated above the flood level.

“We’ll keep an eye on the flood from here,” Mr Mann said.

“If you need a beer today you’ve got rocks in your head. Just go and help with sandbagging.”

The Criterion and Milkshake Lane ice-cream store have moved their freezers to Milkshake Lane’s owners’ property in Echuca and plugged them in in case of power outages in Rochester, ensuring the two businesses will not lose that stock.

They’re among many new businesses or new business owners in town that will be riding out their first major flood.

By Thursday afternoon most shops along Mackay St, Gillies St and Moore St had closed, and the efforts to sandbag them and flood-proof them as much as possible were evident.

All had sandbags at least across their doors.

Others had worked with their neighbours to put up a wall of sandbags against black plastic that had been taped to walls.

Many had used silicone across their shop fronts.

The owners of 10 shops along one section of the western side of Mackay St banded together to use sandbags to protect all of their shops as much as possible.

This is one of the first streets to go under in times of flooding in Rochester, and those business owners who were there in 2011 remember well the devastation to their businesses as water poured in.

Leigh Wilson and his wife, Samantha, own Bellus Studio in Mackay St, which Samantha runs.

In 2011, water went through the shop, destroying the floors.

It took five weeks before the business was able to open again, something the couple is keen not to have happen again.

“There’s a quiet resolve from the public, you can see the stress in faces but they know what to expect,” Mr Wilson said.

“This group of shops have a plan of action, we’re working collaboratively and we’re now in a process we’re unfortunately good at.

“Mackay St is under a lot of threat but I believe we have a chance of doing the best we can to save the shops.”

“We’ll have a line in the sand where we can’t do anything else and once the river comes up we go home. We’ve done all we can.”

Everyone has put everything up as high as possible and sandbagged.

The general consensus around town was that at least locals had some warning of the impending flood, compared to 2011.

And that means the town is in a much better place than last time, when the river height exceeded most expectations.

Most businesses in town closed Thursday knowing they would not be able to open until after the flood water receded and any necessary repair works were carried out.

Majors IGA Supermarket was still open Thursday afternoon, with people stocking up before it had to close the doors.

By lunchtime, bread and milk were all but sold out, with staff members putting out more meat and bottled water, which had been flying off the shelves.

All three of the town’s schools — Rochester Secondary College, Rochester Primary School and St Joseph’s Primary School — will be closed on Friday, and will re-assess over the weekend whether they will open from Monday or not.

School buses will not run on Monday.

St Joseph’s principal Liz Trewick said 80 students and many of the teachers at her school had stayed home on Thursday as well.

Fifty students and a handful of teachers were at the school, allowing for the children’s parents to prepare homes, businesses and properties for the impending flood.

In preparation, teachers had lifted everything up high in the classrooms, and about 40 parents and families helped the school sandbag on Thursday.

By Thursday night, residents in the town had done all they could and it was just a matter of waiting to see what the rising river brought.