SES fights the tide

By Melissa Meehan
AS FLOODWATERS swept the state, Pakenham State Emergency Service volunteers rushed back home from Swan Hill to ensure their local community was protected.
Over the last four weeks, volunteers from Pakenham SES have given up their annual holidays or taken leave without pay to assist fellow Victorians in need.
During that time they have endured sandbagging in 45+ degree temperatures and 12-hour nightshifts on isolated properties to ensure flood waters didn’t inundate historical buildings in the Swan Hill and Kerang areas.
As word was received their local communities would be affected by storm cells sweeping across Victoria on Friday, those members assisting in other areas headed back to Pakenham as a priority.
It was not before time, with the first rescue call being received to rescue a man and his daughter from their flooded vehicle under the Narre Warren Railway bridge, a rescue which was to set the scene for a busy weekend ahead.
As rain pelted down on volunteers, requests for assistance came through at a rate of one every three minutes, with most requesting the SES attend to flooded homes.
A break in the weather allowed SES crews to play catch-up on the requests for assistance before the rain again pelted down on Saturday.
The rain on Saturday resulted in more than 1000 calls to the SES in the Narre Warren and Pakenham areas, to assist residents whose homes were flooded or at risk of flooding.
Pakenham SES spokesperson Shayne Honey said the calls were coming in faster than they could dispatch crews, which meant sometimes there were unusually long delays to help those who needed it.
SES crews were angered by the actions of some, who thought playing, swimming or driving through floodwater would be a fun thing to do.
“Unfortunately these actions only tied up crews more, who were forced to put themselves in danger to rescue those stranded,” he said.
“One of over 20 rescues was that of a of a 15-year-old boy from the raging Cardinia Creek, when volunteer Andrew Macreadie battled the torrent to bring the boy to safety.
“It was infuriating to receive calls and also see others swimming and playing in the floodwaters. People need to realise the danger they put themselves and others in, as only two feet of water is enough to sweep an adult off their feet and into trouble.
With the amount of rain received, Pakenham SES identified local rivers, creeks and spillways at risk of flooding and ensured regular checks of the levels. As part of the SES Incident Control Centre response, SES requested the assistance of local CFA crews to assist.
The Pakenham unit volunteers were still receiving calls and assisting residents up until 6pm Monday.