A major investigation into catastrophic floods reveals confusion about preparations, failures in emergency warnings and clunky access to recovery grants.
Flood waters lashed Victoria in October 2022, displacing thousands of residents and destroying hundreds of homes.
A parliamentary inquiry into the disaster has released its final report.
“Not all the damage done in the October 2022 flood event was caused by nature alone,” inquiry chair and Labor MP Ryan Batchelor said.
“The impact of the volume of rain that fell was exacerbated by decisions made, often years prior, on the shape of the built environment, new physical infrastructure, and by our planning system.”
The report made 73 findings and 90 recommendations.
“Some areas received excessive warnings from competing sources whilst others received incorrect, limited or delayed warnings,” it said.
“In both circumstances communities experienced confusion, which limited people’s capacity to make informed decisions.”
Communication with diverse communities was found lacking, while some people living in rural and remote areas were cut off altogether.
Nationals MP Tim McCurdy slammed the state government for its preparations and response.
“This is a clear and systemic failure, under various ministers, to fix the system before it all went wrong,” he said.
The report recognised the vital role of the State Emergency Service but called for more funding and extra volunteers.
Confusion around ownership and responsibility for flood mitigation systems like levees and culverts rendered many ineffective or useless, the report found.
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And in one example, building a temporary levee protected part of a town but pushed flood waters into 190 other properties.
“The lack of proper warning, inadequate support and insufficient resources for those facing inevitable inundation contributed to a sense of abandonment among affected residents,” the committee said.
Flood survivors were often lost in the complexity of applying for food relief. The state government was urged to simplify the process.
The report highlighted strong community support for keeping Lake Eppalock, near Bendigo in central Victoria, at no more than 90% full at times of high rainfall.
The nearby town of Rochester was inundated during the floods, with almost every property damaged or destroyed.