A report providing updated information relating to the operation of the Emergency Relief Centre in Seymour following the October 2022 floods has been accepted by Mitchell Shire councillors.
Currently there are four ERC setups – Broadford Hall, Kilmore Memorial Hall, Wallan Multi-Purpose Centre, and Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre.
Council opened an Emergency Relief Centre, ERC, at the Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre in response to the October 13, 2022 flood event in Seymour and its surrounds where more than 150 homes were evacuated.
The centre supported over 150 residents and visitors impacted by the flooding, remaining open 24 hours a day for seven days.
On January 7 and 8, 2024, Mitchell Shire experiences a widespread rain event resulting in the need to reopen the ERC.
Following the October 2022 floods council led a comprehensive debrief into the operational response and early recovery for this event with the debrief presented September 4, 2023 with 24 actions identified.
Of those 24, seven relate to ERCs with four completed – the ERC briefing/debriefing process, assessing training requirements, identifying system improvements for registering impacted people, and regularly exercising established ERC arrangements.
A separate Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee action plan is currently being developed to ensure all relevant agencies implement learning and systemic improvements identified.
Councillor Bill Chisholm said the report was very important.
“It shows the lessons we’ve learnt out of the October 2022 floods. It’s really important after any event you can gain and learn something,” he said.
“It outlines what we’ve learnt and how we’ll implement it into the future.
“I think we did cater well at the relief centre for the people who were affected and there’s always elements we can improve on.”
Major infrastructure works identified for the ERCs are a $200,000 generator installation at Seymour, Wallan and Kilmore; heating upgrades at Seymour; fire alarm systems at Seymour and Kilmore; and toilet/shower upgrades at Seymour.
These works are currently unfunded.
