A hearing for the Inquiry into the 2022 flood event in Victoria will take place in Seymour on September 14.
Submissions to the inquiry have now closed, but people will be given the opportunity to speak to their submissions at the hearing.
A hot topic at the hearing is expected to be emergency warning systems.
Member for Eurora Annabelle Cleeland said it was time to act on many of the community recommendations made with improving emergency warning systems a priority for communities.
“The inquiry into the devastating flood event has allowed residents from these affected communities to have their voices heard,” she said.
“What I’ve heard from members of my community is that improving the emergency warning systems is essential to allow for people to prepare for these devastating events.”
Ms Cleeland said it was integral to listen to people who dealt with the issue first-hand and to implement their recommendations.
“The people who experienced the floods first-hand, and a few people saw it more than those in our local towns such as Seymour and Nagambie, are in the best position to make sure we are more prepared for the future,” she said.
Ms Cleeland said she raised the issue in Parliament, asking the State Government to immediately overhaul the emergency warning systems to allow for sufficient warnings.
She said the need for improving the systems was not a new suggestion.
“In 2021 there were severe storms across Victoria, including Pyalong which was heavily impacted,” she said.
“After these storms, it was found that power outages were impacting the ability for residents to receive emergency warnings and that the current system was not providing positive outcomes to those affected.
“With no phones or internet, most had to drive or walk to find information. People had to drive to the other side of town and high points on hills to get any phone service, and to receive and send SMS messages and phone calls.”
Along with better warning systems, Mitchell Shire Council is investigating the Bureau of Meteorology’s river height level monitoring system, which collects data on waterways in catchments flowing into the Seymour area.
At a council meeting earlier this year, Cr Rhonda Sanderson said in preparing for future storm and flood events, it would be useful for council and other agencies to understand how the system worked and what could have occurred in the 2022 flood to result in underestimated peak heights.
