Week of destructive winds see VICSES volunteers Spring into action

In the wake of severe storms which impacted much of the state last week and into this week, Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) volunteers are continuing to support their communities as they work to clear the thousands of Requests for Assistance (RFAs) received across Victoria.

Following an initial cold front which crossed the state from the west on 27 August, as at 3 September, VICSES volunteers have been paged to more than 8,300 RFAs, after a series of overnight storms brought destructive winds to large parts of the state, as well as damaging surf to several coastal communities.

Across this seven-day period, VICSES volunteers were paged to respond to almost 6,000 tree-down emergencies and more than 2,000 RFAs relating to building damage, with demand for emergency support further punctuated by wind gusts which peaked at more than 140 km/h in some areas of the state on the morning of 2 September.

The extreme wind conditions overnight impacted Victoria’s coastline and caused widespread damage to large parts of the state’s southwest and Bellarine Peninsula, throughout metropolitan Melbourne including bayside suburbs, and into Gippsland, with almost 5,000 RFAs lodged in a 40-hour period from 7:00pm, 1 September.

Experiencing a prolonged demand for our emergency services, in the last week eight VICSES units were paged to more than 200 RFAs, with the Emerald, Morwell, Frankston, and Warragul Units the busiest, each attending more than 330 RFAs.

More than 20 other VICSES units each attended over 100 RFAs during this period, while 149 of our 150 VICSES units across the state were actively paged to assist their communities throughout the emergency.

Despite the considerable demand for VICSES volunteer assistance across the state, by 10:00am 3 September, almost 95 per cent of RFAs statewide had been cleared by VICSES volunteers with support from our emergency service partners.

This process was further eased with the arrival of 29 NSW SES volunteers yesterday evening, providing much-needed relief and respite to the busiest crews across Gippsland and Melbourne’s bayside suburbs. The crews begin work today, supporting with chainsaw operations as well as Safe Working at Heights.

Among a magnitude of messages of thanks from community members across Victoria, Premier Jacinta Allan also expressed her appreciation for the tireless efforts of VICSES volunteers earlier this week, as did Emergency Services Minister The Hon. Jaclyn Symes when the pair attended the State Control Centre on Monday.

To stay up-to-date with emergency warnings, visit https://emergency.vic.gov.au/respond.

Quotes attributable to Alistair Drayton, VICSES Deputy Chief Officer Readiness and Response

”Our VICSES volunteers have provided tremendous support to communities across Victoria over the last week, in the face of a weather pattern which has caused damage and destruction to many, and they will continue to support those communities as they recover from these storms.

“As we enter the warmer spring months, Victorians should ensure they are prepared for both spring and summer storm conditions, by developing an emergency plan and securing all loose items which could be turned into projectiles in the event of a storm emergency.”