Live blog, October 19: Council hosted an update meeting, clean up begins in some areas, water heads north and west

A reminder: the most recent news updates are at the top of this blog. As you scroll down, you’ll be travelling backwards in time.

Ensure you stay across alerts on the Vic Emergency app, the Victoria SES website or calling 132 500 if you urgently need assistance. Call 000 in an emergency and remember to never drive through or enter floodwaters.

If you need to contact us, please email editor@sheppnews.com.au — all our editorial staff have been cut off from the office.

Max Stainkamph will be with you in the morning before Tyler Maher takes over the reins.

UPDATE, 8.20pm: That’s it for today

A few wrap up messages below.

Thank you for joining today’s live blog.

This flood emergency is not over - certainly not for those further downstream and even for those in Greater Shepparton as well.

The waters may be receding, but the hard work starts now.

We’ll have more free, rolling coverage for you over the coming days.

Until then, stay safe.

– Tyler Maher

UPDATE, 8.10pm Wednesday: Meeting moving towards being wrapped up

UPDATE, 8pm: Health advice

UPDATE, 7.50pm: Few potholes

There’s around 785 significant potholes between Broadford and Benalla on the Hume Hwy.

Gives you an idea of the width and breadth of the situation with the roads - take it easy please.

The water in Lemnos and Congupna is coming from the Broken River.

UPDATE, 7.45pm Wednesday: Around 200,000 sandbags filled

Volunteer here - https://greatershepparton.com.au/community/emergencies/flood/flood-respond/how-to-help

UPDATE, 7.35pm Wednesday: Clean up will be huge, but free

Lots of question about Loch Garry too that haven’t been answered yet. Here’s our latest update.

UPDATE, 7.30pm: Rolling through some questions

UPDATE, 7.25pm: ICC in Shepp will run 24/7 for a while yet

Getting some updates from the BOM (still not copping ‘The Bureau’, sorry) and the rain on the way does not seem enough to send flood waters rising significantly again, but it remains an unknown.

But the ICC will stay 24/7 for a while yet to deal with any more curveballs.

UPDATE, 7.20pm: More from Max

UPDATE, 7.15pm: An assessment from all areas of the emergency

We have Shane Sali, mayor, Peter Harriott, council CEO, Vic SES's Ray Jasper, GBCMA floodplain manager Guy Tierney, Shepparton police's Bruce Simpson, GV Health's Will Cross, GM Water general manager Daniel Flanagan and Angie Bone (Deputy CHO of department of health) sounding off about the current situation from their respective points of view.

Specific questions will be answered after that.

UPDATE, 7.10pm: Causeway likely to open tomorrow

The Causeway should be open sometime tomorrow.

UPDATE, 6.55pm: Meeting to begin shortly

Hello, I’m still here.

I also found Max, who is at the council community information update meeting to bring you the latest.

He’ll be tweeting it, I’ll be blogging it and you’ll be watching it - if you go to council’s Facebook page that is.

We’ll have a tidy wrap of the information for you when we can as well.

UPDATE, 6.20pm: Word from Arcadia

Andrew Furphy's entire Arcadia farm - with the exception of only his house - went under water with flooding from the Seven Creeks.

His biggest concern was his flock of sheep.

Read reporter Monique Preston's story here.

While I prep for this 7pm community update meeting - which you can watch live on the Greater Shepparton City Council Facebook page and Youtube channel - I’ll leave you to trawl through the stories from the day.

See you back at the top of this page in about 40 minutes.

UPDATE, 6.10pm: Man hit by car

A man has been taken to hospital after being hit by a vehicle in Numurkah on Sunday, October 16.

Police said investigators had been told the 49-year-old Katunga man was allegedly lying on Hendys Rd when he was hit by a vehicle around 5.20am.

The driver of the vehicle, a 39-year-old Nathalia man, stopped at the scene and rendered assistance to the victim until emergency services arrived.

UPDATE, 5.15pm Wednesday: Heroics everywhere you look

It’s hard to keep up with the heroics from across the region.

There’s nothing quite like the community spirit of places like ours. It makes me emotional just thinking about it.

Monique Preston with another ripper here.

When three Shepparton brothers saw an elderly man get stuck in his car in flood water in Shepparton on Tuesday, October 18, they sprung into action to rescue him.

Anthony, Adrian and Angelo Portia were helping out at their father’s flooded house when they saw the 91-year-old man’s car get stuck in water at Longstaff St about 11am.

Emergency services had been called to help, but the brothers had a boat with them so they headed in to help the driver themselves, along with another man who was passing by.

By the time they reached the 91-year-old’s car, it was half full with water, with him still sitting in the driver’s seat, Anthony said.

For the full story - and a video of the rescue - click on the link below.

UPDATE, 5pm Wednesday: 7-Eleven has reached out

7-Eleven at Shepparton North will be reopened for limited hours with fuel and basic essentials.

The store, which wasn’t affected by flooding, is expected to open from 4pm-7pm tonight, and from 7am-7pm in the interim period until a full product range and hours can be offered.

UPDATE, 4.45pm Wednesday: More from Mon

Shepparton News reporter Monique Preston and photographer Megan Fisher took a break from saving escaped goldfish to catch up with Theresa Chalcraft and her son Zane as they waded through flooded Longstaff St to get some food and drink supplies from dry land.

The pair live in Longstaff St and had stayed in their house during the floods because it is built up high and they were confident it would stay dry.

However, the water in their driveway reached waist deep at the height of the flood.

"We were safe, but we were worried for our neighbours," Ms Chalcraft said.

UPDATE, 4.30pm Wednesday: Buses to resume in Shepp

I’ve had word from the Dyson Group that some buses in Shepparton will resume tomorrow.

The number four, five, six and seven routes will run on their normal weekday schedule.

These include the Connolly Park, Archer, South East and Marketplace services respectively.

UPDATE, 4pm Wednesday: Businesses lose thousands of dollars worth of stock

Daniel Webb remains out and about in Shepparton.

Pat and Tina’s BP in Shepparton North is back in action despite receiving flood water damage.

Owner Joe Di Conza, said the store lost around $4000 worth of stock due to the power going out.

“We’ve now started the clean up, we’re trying to operate, all I’ve got is motor spirit (petrol) at the moment, no diesel,” Mr Di Conza said.

“The community of Shepparton is just incredible, in tough times we just stick together so much it’s just amazing.

“Hopefully now we’ll be able to soldier on and move forward.”

UPDATE, 3.45pm Wednesday: Dairy news from Geoff Adams

Some dairy farmers have had to dump milk because tankers could not access their properties in northern Victoria.

Cows need to be milked regularly to maintain production.

The Stanhope Fonterra factory and the Shepparton Noumi factories have been able to continue production but at a reduced level due to the inability of some staff to get to work.

Fonterra says thankfully all their staff and farmers are safe and they have no reports of loss of livestock or significant damage to farms.

Road closures are a continuing challenge.

Noumi has had to scaled production due to reduced milk input, staff shortages and closures of freight routes.

Noumi CEO Michael Perich was in Shepparton today and met with Federal Member for Nicholls, Sam Birrell to ask for government support.

UPDATE, 3.40pm Wednesday: An important question

Nicola Ceccato has tried to answer the question, how do I clean up my home after a flood?

Read her story below.

UPDATE, 3.15pm Wednesday: The last thing Mooroopna businesses need

Cut off from most essential services, inundated with flood water and staring down the barrel of a massive clean up operation - Mooroopna business owners and residents have enough on their plate to deal with.

But, heartbreakingly, some are taking advantage of the deserted streets to break into shops.

“Total shock and disbelief” is how Zaffer Coskun describes discovering his Mooroopna pizza business being broken into while he was coming to terms with his own personal flood crisis.

“Total shock and disbelief that someone could get that low and do something like that,” he said.

“It was just another blow. That’s when it really (hit that), sadly, something like that could actually happen after all that.

“We’re trying to keep our spirits up. You know, natural disasters we can’t do much about, you can’t really help that, but things like this, it’s just unbelievable.”

Mr Coskun was awoken by alarms early on Wednesday (October 19) morning alerting him that his business, Che Che’s Pizza on Macisaac Road was being broken into.

I’ll have the link to the full story from Murray Silby below when it is ready.

UPDATE, 3.10pm Wednesday: An update from the sports team

This from Daniel Webb.

“Just swung by the Shepparton Lawn Tennis Club, clubhouse is fine, grass courts should be okay once water recedes, synthetic courts are the main concern,” he said.

“Water will likely impact drainage and therefore they may need to be replaced.”

Daniel’s also reporting that access all the way along Wyndham St is now possible, although it is still only one lane either way in places.

UPDATE, 3pm Wednesday: Power back on

Power is back on across the region and energy usage restrictions have been lifted.

UPDATE, 2.40pm Wednesday: Community spirit on show

Serving the community has always been at the forefront for Colliver Rd Foodworks in Shepparton — but over recent days the shop took its dedication to a new level.

While its immediate surrounds were engulfed by flood waters, the shop did not close its doors, giving locals the opportunity to stock up on the crucial supplies they needed.

Balancing defending the store from the incoming danger with stocking the shelves for desperate customers, manager Jimmy Shi explained why he decided to keep the shop open.

“This shop is not in the centre of town, so for all the people that live in the community around here it is where they get their food and supplies from,” Mr Shi said.

“A lot of people were trapped, they couldn’t get to Coles or Woolworths to stock up, so we knew we had to stay open to service those people.

“We had people coming through on canoes, wading through the water — it was crazy.

“But everyone was so thankful we stayed open and were able to get the necessities they needed to get through the flood.”

Read the full story here.

A reminder that we’re gearing up for a community meeting tonight at 7pm in Shepparton.

We’re expecting to have lots of updates for you out of it - but they won’t make tomorrow’s paper, so make sure you stay with us here on the live blog.

And while you’re here, we’ve appreciated all of your input throughout this emergency. If you have anything to let us know about, the best place is through this link - https://t.co/PSbi7jkAx5 - whether it be acts of kindness, updated information for your area or something a bit more light-hearted like a goldfish being caught by a court reporter.

UPDATE, 2pm Wednesday: Farewell to one of our own

Country News reporter Daneka Hill is finishing up with the group and heading back to her home state of Queensland.

Daneka and her dad Bill (pictured below) will head safely north when they can - although Daneka has already hung around longer than she was scheduled to in order to help us with our flood coverage.

We wish her well, and we’ll miss her smiling face in the office just like you will out on your farms.

UPDATE, 1.50pm Wednesday: Clean up begins in Shepparton

Although many remain cut off from their homes around Greater Shepparton, the clean up is already beginning in the more central areas of town.

Here’s some images from News photographer Megan Fisher from her travels today.

UPDATE, 1.30pm Wednesday: More from Holly Daniel

Water is rising in the north of Shepparton, and Holly Daniel has been able to chat to some of the hard working residents and volunteers.

More videos from her below - and we’ll have some images for you once she’s able to upload them.

UPDATE, 1.20pm Wednesday: Evacuation routes

Potential evacuation routes for Barmah and Lower Moira to Nathalia have been confirmed by aerial assessment, says the ICC.

Barmah – Vehicles can travel on East Picola-Barmah Road and then South on Murray Valley Highway to access Nathalia.

Lower Moira – vehicles can travel North on Stewarts Bridge Road and then North again on Wrights Bridge Road to Barmah – and then refer to above from Barmah to Nathalia as above.

Please note a lot of these roads are very close to flooding and access is subject to rapid change.

UPDATE, 1.14pm Wednesday: Aerial images show extent of flooding

High-resolution imagery of the devastating Victoria floods is being captured by Australian location intelligence and aerial imagery firm, Nearmap. These images are provided to assist with response, rebuilding, and recovery efforts.

See them below.

UPDATE 1.10pm Wednesday: Lakes across the region temporarily filled

Goulburn-Murray Water has diverted water into Greens Lake and Lake Cooper near Corop — but it’s only a temporary measure.

Diversion of water to Lake Cooper started on October 7 and diversions to Greens Lake started October 13.

More below

UPDATE, 12.55pm Wednesday: 'Caught’ reporter to the rescue

Reporter Monique Preston waded in to lend a hand while out interview flood-affected residents, joining forces with 12-year-old Cooper Robertson to rescue one of four goldfish which had escaped his grandmother's pond in Nicholls Ave.

This fish was caught on Longstaff St and Kirsten St, a couple of streets down. It was spotted by Longstaff St resident Shane McDonald who was out helping catch them and spotted them.

I knew Mon was good at court reporting but I didn’t realise she was also a ‘caught’ reporter...

(Pause for laughter)

UPDATE 12.45pm: Causeway update

Hi all, Tyler Maher jumping on the blog. I’d say to give Max a rest, but I know he’s about to go and write a bunch of stories.

The Shepparton Incident Control Centre has reached out to remind everyone that the Causeway between Shepparton and Mooroopna remains closed today.

“The Causeway between Shepparton and Mooroopna is currently closed except for emergency vehicles and essential services like milk tankers and food suppliers. Some emergency vehicles will be unmarked,” the statement said.

“The Causeway may reopen by tomorrow morning. Keep up to date by checking the VicRoads app and website.”

UPDATE, 12.34pm: Safe for Orrvale residents to return

The emergency warning to evacuate following flooding at Orrvale has been lifted and it is safe to return.

Dangerous hazards including floodwater, mud, debris, damaged roads and fallen trees may still be present.

Reassessment of infrastructure will be undertaken in time, so extra care is needed when moving around.

It is now safe to return the evacuated area to assess impacts as the threat is reduced. Be aware of any hazards that may still exist in the warning area.

You should monitor your local conditions and remain alert.

That’s Max signing off from the blog, I’ll leave you in the capable hands of editor Tyler Maher.

UPDATE, 12.13pm: Assistance package for the ag sector

The Victorian Premier has announced a $19.5 million initial package for the agricultural sector, with further Commonwealth support expected in coming days.

“This is all about clean up and support for those that are without income and are in the most uncertain of times,” Mr Andrews said.

“Primary producers who have been directly affected by floods will have access to a one-off direct payment of $10,000 to support clean up, re-establishment and all other efforts they will have to go to in coming weeks and months.”

“This is an initial payment, and we will get these out the door as fast as we possibly can.”

UPDATE, 11.58am: Emergency warning for Mooroopna to lift

The SES says it is planning to lift the emergency warning in Mooroopna this afternoon.

UPDATE, 11.54am: Food packs available in Murchison, Premier gives an update

Premier Daniel Andrews is providing an update to media joined by Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes Emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp the SES's Tim Wiebusch and Brigadier Matt Burr.

The SES is expecting the major flood level in Shepparton to recede by Saturday.

"By Saturday we're hoping that the water will have receded significantly around all residential properties in that Shepparton and Kialla West area in particular," SES's Tim Wiebusch says.

Meanwhile, Food Care Packs are available at the Murchison Recovery Centre at the Neighbourhood House, 23 Impey Street Murchison from 1pm to 4pm today.

The Red Cross will be in attendance and also giving out information about personal emergency grants and having discussions about property damage to inform recovery activities.

UPDATE, 11.47am: Full wrap from Echuca

Residents have been told the Murray River is expected to peak in Echuca-Moama on Saturday at 95.6m (AHD), a figure lower than the 95.9m (AHD) previously reported on Monday.

A Country Fire Authority official addressed a crowd of locals at Victoria Park in Echuca on Tuesday night, providing an update on the impending flood situation.

“The Campaspe River event was a large-flow one-in-1000-year event,” he said.

UPDATE, 11.25am: Water receding in the Guthrie St area, Batman comes to help

Megan Fisher and Monique Preston have made their way onto Hassett St, which is along the river in Shepparton.

Meanwhile, Batman has arrived to help lift spirits at the Shepparton evacuation centres.

Patrick Morrow spoke to the man (the bat?) himself, check that out below.

UPDATE, 10.56am: Emergency meeting in Echuca

Up north, Bransen Gibson is at an emergency meeting where residents are being told the peak is expected on Saturday.

Echuca is about to fill its 200,000th sandbag, while a kilometres-long levee has been built over the last few days to save thousands of homes, although some have had to be left outside the wall.

“I asked on Monday for the community to get behind this plan, and to see 400 people run through Echuca to deliver sandbags to the ADF made your heart sing. I can’t thank the community enough for the work that you have done."

I’ll have more from that meeting when it’s done.

UPDATE, 10.48am: Man found dead in Nathalia

Police will prepare a report for the Coroner following the death of a man at Nathalia.

The 65-year-old man was last known to be on a tractor on a property off Blacksmiths Road yesterday afternoon.

Here’s the full story.

UPDATE, 10.35am: Power restored in Mooroopna

Powercor has restored power to a further 500 homes in Mooroopna and surrounds since Tuesday afternoon.

James Kleeman spoke to them and the provider said it has now restored electricity supply to all customers who were affected by flooding at its Mooroopna substation, which was de-energised on Sunday morning.

“We’ve got everyone back on power to all customers on the Mooroopna network after the sub-station was de-energised due to significant flooding on Sunday morning,” a Powercor spokesperson said.

“The customers that are back on, they’re back on through reconfigurations of other parts of the network which are really stretched.

“We’re essentially using other power lines to add extra demand, what we’re asking and encouraging customers to do is limit their power use where they can which will keep the network more reliable for everybody.”

UPDATE, 10.25am: Sleepless nights as the water rose

Shepparton resident Jacinta Pattison had a sleepless few nights as she watched as floodwater approached her Lachlan Cres home.

She considers herself one of the lucky ones, as her house sits towards the back of the block, and water from the Broken River only reached high on her driveway.

But it was the waiting on Sunday and Sunday night to see how things would pan out that was the hardest.

Monique Preston spoke to her, here’s the full story.

UPDATE, 10am: Not now, mother nature

There’s been an earthquake near Mansfield. I wish I was joking. It was a magnitude 3.4, there’s been no immediate reports of damage, but not now guys.

We’ve got enough going on.

UPDATE, 9.45am: Flooding in Zeerust

Rachel Preston Broughton has sent through some photos from the flooding near Zeerust Primary School, showing the widespread flood water up that way.

There are evacuation orders in place there, as well as in Bunbartha, Kaarimba and Mundoona.

UPDATE, 9.30am: Causeway to open when safe, Mooroopna medical clinic reopens for telehealth

We just hear Shepparton’s deputy incident controller Ray Jasper on the ABC, who said the Causeway was all but clear of water with teams now inspecting the road to ensure it was safe.

He said it would be opened as soon as they could.

Mr Jasper also said authorities were working to try and get Woolworths open in Mooroopna

He said he didn’t want residents in Mooroopna to feel left behind.

“It certainly haven’t been forgotten, we’ve used military vehicles or choppers to fly supplies in,” he said.

“We did 20 resupplies into Mooroopna yesterday.”

Additionally, I’ve just heard from Goulburn Medical Clinic in Mooroopna who have reopened for telehealth from today.

Dr Gurshant Singh and Dr Elisa Beasley are both operating online today, with water still in the clinic meaning they are unable to open in person.

The normal phone number is operational, but with just one line there may be delays getting through.

UPDATE, 9am: Digital edition free again

If you want to check out the physical copy of the Shepp News but can’t get to a newsagent, pressreader (the whizzbang gadget which lets you read the paper online as it was printed) is free again.

A lot of people have been left in a really bad spot financially after these floods, but if you’re able to, please consider subscribing to the News. Your support lets us do this sort of coverage, free for everyone, during these sorts of events — plus you get to stay across what’s happening in the city and the region.

I won’t harp on about it, but just wanted to give it a mention :) to those who are subscribed — thank you.

UPDATE, 8.30am: Sandbagging ceases in Shepparton, Mooroopna

Greater Shepparton City Council has said sandbagging has stopped in Shepparton and Mooroopna, with resources urgently needed to assist communitites further north around Echuca, Tongala and Kyabram.

Council said the resources will return in due course once the danger has passed downriver.

UPDATE, 8.25am: Archer St still closed

There’s still water over the road in Archer St, with the road still shut to traffic.

UPDATE, 8.15am: More of the best of people, water still high in Mooroopna

Riannon Calder sent in a photo from her place, with flood water still high in Lenne St and Howe St in Mooroopna.

The Causeway is still yet to open, so The News hasn’t been able to get across after half our reports and photographers had to evacuate. Once it does though we’ll be straight there.

There are so many good deeds happening around Shepparton and Mooroopna (and the broader region) that we’re struggling to keep up.

Harvey Norman brought phone chargers down to the Shepparton Evacuation Centres yesterday as well as full drink bottles, all given away for free.

Tatura Laundromat is offering free washing and drying for people who’ve had to leave their homes. I heard yesterday KFC dropped hundreds of dollars of free chicken at the Shepparton evacuation centre. Just good deeds coming out the wazoo.

Further afield in Rochester, where it’s estimated 85 per cent of the town was hit, the lads from the footy club have hit the streets to help tear up carpets. Honestly, it brings a tear to the eye.

UPDATE, 8am: We’re seeing the best of people

Across Shepparton’s North, four men have become a collective beacon of light to residents trapped by flood waters.

Shepparton Boxing Gym owner Daniel Cleave, alongside Kaiden Richards, Curt Arthur and Michael Hand, has been making supply drops by boat since Monday, October 16.

Read the full story below.

UPDATE, 7.45am: Wyndham St nearly clear of water

Megan Fisher has arrived near Victoria Park Lake to find Wynham St nearly clear of water.

The road is not yet open but it, and potentially many other roads, may be open across today. I have it on good authority you’re able to get from Kialla to Shepparton by car now, with information on when the Causeway will open expected to come tonight at a Greater Shepparton City Council forum.

UPDATE, 7.30am: Sandbagging at Congupna

Morning all, Max Stainkamph with you this morning for another day of the live blog. While water is receding in Shepparton and Mooroopna, residents downstream are bracing for flood water heading their way.

Residents in Bunbartha, Zeerust, Mundoona and Kaarimba have been told to evacuate. If you want an update on the current state of play, Tyler Maher put together a wrap of where we currently sit.

Megan Fisher ducked out to Congupna and met Ben Morgan.

He was picking up sandbags that are ready for people to pick up out the front of the Congupna Primary School. Ben lives in Congupna along Lemnos North Road where the channel there is rising.

She said water is over road at just after Lemnos North Rd heading onto Congupna East Rd. Water running into Congupna H49 bush land reserve.

Flood waters in Shepparton have begun to recede, too, with Victoria Park Lake looking more like a lake last night.