The City of Greater Geelong Council is continuing to work with authorities to monitor and respond to the region’s flood situation, with a damage assessment to be carried out across the municipality in the coming days.
On Saturday, Council opened an emergency relief centre at the Grovedale Community Hub for residents who chose to evacuate the Barwon River Holiday Park in Belmont.
The relief centre opened at 11.30am and provided a safe place for those who did not have an alternative place to go, said Mayor, Peter Murrihy.
It was used by four community members and closed at 5pm on Saturday evening. Those requiring overnight accommodation were assisted to find it, the Mayor said.
“A big thank you to authorities and volunteers who have worked hard over the past few days in an attempt to keep people and property safe,” said Mayor Murrihy.
“We are thankful in Geelong that we have not experienced the same degree of damage to residential properties as other parts of the state, and our thoughts are with those all over Victoria who have been impacted.
“We are also thinking of the local business operators dealing with the devastation of their commercial properties being inundated.”
He said Council staff would work alongside emergency services personnel to assess the impacts on all properties in the coming days and look to identify and connect people with relevant support.
“I encourage everyone to stay safe by heeding all safety warnings,” the Mayor said.
With further rain forecast later this week and river levels already high, residents are being advised to stay prepared by keeping sandbags for potential future use.
Around 7,000 sandbags have so far been filled and distributed from St Albans Reserve in Thomson.
Several Council-managed facilities are closed until further notice as a result of flooding:
- Landy Field athletics centre
- Barwon Valley Activity Centre (BVAC)
- Balyang Par 3 Golf Course
- Belmont dog park
- Lara, Queens Park and Barwon Valley public golf courses are also closed.
The Victorian Government has established a Flood Recovery Hotline to help people find available support: 1800 560 760.
