Manningham Storm Response

ON SUNDAY, 19 JANUARY 2020 AROUND 4PM, THE FORECAST STORM BRINGING TORRENTIAL RAIN, LARGE HAIL STONES, HIGH WINDS, THUNDER AND LIGHTNING HIT

MANNINGHAM TRAVELLING IN A LINEAR PATH WESTBOUND FROM WARRANDYTE ALONG THE YARRA RIVER TO BULLEEN AND THEN SOUTHBOUND TO MALVERN. WARRANDYTE SUSTAINED MOST OF THE SEVERE DAMAGE IN MANNINGHAM.

Large hailstones smashed roof tiles, skylights, house windows, cars, knocked over trees and brought down a thick blanket of leaves which blocked road drains resulting in mass flooding. The hail also loaded gutters causing rain water to flow into roof cavities. Heavy rain came in through broken roof tiles and flowed in from blocked gutters resulting in roofs and ceilings collapsing. Minor injuries were reported from ceilings caving in. Wind in some areas was so extreme that one homeowner found his neighbour’s garage roof in his back yard. Over 400 calls for help were received and managed in the Manningham area. Houses were destroyed in minutes. Many families had to leave their homes as they were uninhabitable. Most were able to go to friends and families, however, three

vicsesva.org.au families in the area were handled through Manningham Council’s displaced persons program as their homes were uninhabitable and the residents had no alternative arrangements.

Manningham SES crews worked into the early hours of Monday morning actively installing tarpaulins, conducting temporary building repairs, and tree removal. Other SES volunteers from Ballarat, Frankston, Corio, South West Victoria, Melton, Monash, and Pakenham as well as three MFB crews from Pumper 10, 08A, and 08B were called in to assist in the clean-up. Two and a half days later, all jobs had been attended to by the SES effort, although requests for assistance from people returning to damaged homes were expected to continue throughout the week. Manningham SES volunteers gave up their families and day jobs to assist

throughout the response. An important aspect of the incident management was the triage of jobs through the Incident Control Point (ICP) operating out of SES Local Headquarters in the Manningham Depot at the north end of Blackburn Road. Dedicated volunteers followed up on every single call from homeowners to determine how SES crews could help. Four of those in the ICP experienced massive damage to their own homes and others overly extended themselves to ensure Manningham residents were attended to.

The best descriptor of this event would be “Smashed”. It was an extraordinary storm that hit quickly and caused extensive damage.