Victoria In Victoria, thousands of homes were inundated or isolated by floodwaters, leading to declarations of a state of disaster.
Australian Defence Force personnel were deployed to fill and move
sandbags. 146 flood rescues were made the following day. A 71-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters in his backyard in Rochester. It was estimated that 85% of the homes in Rochester were inundated. By Sunday 16 October, attention was focused on
Shepparton where a major sandbagging operation was undertaken. A 2.5-kilometre dirt
levee was built at Echuca to keep the Murray River out of homes and businesses. In the Victorian council areas of Campaspe, Greater Shepparton, Maribyrnong, Mitchell and Strathbogie, the federal government made a one-off, non-means tested disaster recovery payment of $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child available. Across the states suffering in the crisis, 23 local government areas were made eligible. Displaced people were able to seek shelter at the former quarantine facility in
Mickleham. The Tasmanian town of
Deloraine was particularly hard hit. Evacuation orders were first issued on 13 October for the town of
Meander. The Tasmanian SES was responding to calls for help on the same day.
New South Wales On 21 October, dozens of evacuation orders were made with 48 flood warnings active, Another death was reported on 24 October when a woman's body was found on the bank of a river near
Gulgong, New South Wales. Widespread rain and storms spread across
NSW, and
Victoria, causing more major flooding for river systems. The
Mehi River at
Moree caused 4,000 residents to be evacuated and reached a peak level of 10.5 metres, with the town receiving 107.8 mm of rain on 21 October. Other towns such as
Narrabri,
Gunnedah and
Barraba have experienced rapid major flood levels. The
Wyangala Dam overflowed with a record 230,000
megalitres per day. By 14 November, flooding along the
Lachlan River forced the evacuation of
Forbes. Over 220 people were rescued by the SES over the 24 hour period, but a full assessment had not yet been competed. Up to 80% of homes in the town of
Eugowra were flood damaged. An international team of flood rescue experts arrived in mid November from New Zealand and Singapore to relive fatigued NSW emergency service crews.
South Australia . The river's water level increased significantly due to high flows from upstream. Preparations for anticipated flooding in South Australia began in October. The forecast peak Murray River flows in South Australia were gradually revised during October to December. On 21 October it was forecast to peak at 120
gigalitres per day in early December. On 3 November this was revised to 135 to 150 gigalitres per day in late December and early January; and on 17 November it was revised again, to 175 to 220 gigalitres per day. By mid December the forecast was 190 to 220 gigalitres per day, making it the highest flood level since the
1956 Murray River flood, which peaked at 341 gigalitres per day. At Renmark, the peak was estimated to be 185 to 190 gigalitres per day, and to have occurred on 27 December. By this time, 1700 to 1800 South Australian properties had been flooded, ==See also==