Lilydale, Seville, Coldstream and Mooroolbark smashed
The Warburton Highway through Seville did not escape the torrential rain and flash flooding that hit Lilydale and the surrounding area on Tuesday 25 October.
Overall, close to 75mm of rain fell in around an hour and a half, with a five-minute window of rain falling at an astonishing 120mm per hour.
Lilydale SES Unit Controller Shaun Caulfield said the unseasonal rain was one of the heaviest and most intense downpours the region has seen in some time.
“About 40-50 properties have had significant water go through them and are going to have damage to carpets and flooring. We’re lucky at the moment we haven’t had anybody that’s needed to relocate from their residence but it’s going to be a significant repair bill for a lot of those homeowners.”
Lilydale SES responded to 210 jobs including 24 floodwater rescues as a result of the storm cell event.
Mr Caulfield said sadly they did see a lot of people that were still driving on flooded roads.
“The roads were already inundated with water and people were still making choices to drive into deep water, we had one instance of three cars that all driving to the same flooded road and all somehow got stranded,” he said.
Beresford Road and Cave Hill Road, Maroondah Highway outside Yarra Vally Toyota and Swansea Road near Lilydale Lake were the hardest hit spots in Lilydale, with Beenak Road in Wandin North, Warburton Highway through Seville, Ingram Road and Killara Road in Coldstream and Hull Road and Manchester Road in Mooroolbark among the other flooded areas.
Community bands together
A tight-knit strip of traders on Lilydale’s Main Street began taking steps to recover from the flash floods that poured into their shops.
The downpour left flooring, packaging, computer systems and other property and wares essentially destroyed, with the Barry Plant Real Estate Agency on the corner stripped almost bare due to the extent of their damage.
Owner of Smoothline Dry Cleaners Rachelle Sankey said when a staff member first told her about the water in the shop she brushed it off.
“Then Gwenda started screaming and saying it was like a river, so I tried to get back but every road was blocked. In the end, I actually ran from up past the police station through the floods down the highway to come to see the water, and it was unbelievable,” she said.
“We had things in our shop just floating out the door, and a staff member was almost swimming down the street after them. It was ferocious, ripped our lino up and was up almost to our knees. It didn’t subside until about 10pm.”
With the water continuing to rise Yarra Valley Smokery Alex Tsao proprietor did what he normally does at the shop; make coffee. He made coffee and hot chocolates for
all the other traders who were ‘freaking out’ as they stood by waiting for the water to drop.
“When we started cleaning up, more customers and friends came and help tidy and clean up. We’ve been through a lot and like to help each other, that’s the way we are in this group of shops. We are isolated from everyone else in Lilydale, so we try to stick together, I think that’s the way you have to be in the community,” he said.
Melbourne Gun Club accessible only by boat
Extreme flooding hit the Melbourne Gun Club in Yering in late October, with the clubrooms and grounds having suffered major damage.
Club treasurer Ben Reed said the extent of the damages is unknown but the cost is estimated to be around half a million dollars.
“It’s still only accessible by boat, so we don’t know the full extent but it’s going to be pretty bad because it just went up over a metre in inside,” Mr Reed said.
All of the grounds at the not-for-profit club are completely underwater and all goods are expected to have been lost due to floodwaters.
The club will be closed for several months as a working committee starts to rally volunteers and labourers to prepare for what’s to come.
“I was devastated – everyone has just been in shocked. I’m sure there’s been a few tears with people by themselves, because it’s really just destroyed everything,” he said.
A fundraiser will be launched with a goal of $75,000 – the cost of restoring just one of the grounds and the machinery needed.
The club has eight grounds which are underwater.
