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As levees give way the residents of Nathalia banded together to save the local pub

An SES four-wheel drive and two workers were rescued by the water police.
Source: Herald Sun

UPDATE: RESIDENTS in the flood-besieged town of Nathalia are increasingly confident they can beat the wall of water threatening them, with flooding declared to have peaked.

Up to 150 emergency personnel are continuing to lay sandbags and monitor the northeastern town’s levee system to prevent devastation to more than 600 homes, the State Emergency Service says.

SES deputy incident controller Michael Morley said Broken Creek, which flanks the town, had peaked at 3.25 metres, having remained stable throughout Friday.

But with water set to remain above three metres and continue testing both the aluminium and back-up sandbag levees at least until Sunday, now was no time for emergency crews to relax, Mr Morley said.

“The teams are working reasonably hard. It’s not a matter of sitting back and enjoying the scenery. This is a dynamic situation,” he said.

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“We can’t categorically guarantee the survival of the levee.”

As a result, the evacuation order currently in place was unlikely to be withdrawn over the long weekend, Mr Morley said.

About 90 per cent of the town’s 1400 residents have defied the order, choosing to stay and defend their properties, the SES estimates.

Sightseers are being warned to keep away from the town’s protection zones to avoid putting extra pressure on them. “There’s an increasing number of people in boats coming near the levees, and the wakes they’re creating are a real cause for concern,” Mr Morley said.

In the centre of the town, Nathalia Hotel manager David Byrne said residents seem more at ease on Friday than they have in recent days.

“It’s a little bit more positive here than yesterday,” he said.

“There’s the feeling that if we make it through until (Saturday) afternoon, the levee’s not going to let go, but there’s still that chance.”

He said many of the people estimated to have left town included mothers who’d taken their children to safety, while their husbands stayed behind to defend properties and help emergency crews with sandbagging.

Many locals had contributed “incredible hours” to the defence effort and, with the water having peaked, they deserved a moment to relax, Mr Byrne said.

“We’re hoping a few people will come down tonight and have a few ales and be proud of the work they’ve done,” Mr Byrne said.

The banks held firm against a wall of floodwater overnight.

But the town still faces an anxious wait to see if it can withstand the force of water before levels start to recede, which is not expected to occur until Sunday at the earliest.

SES spokesman Lachlan Quick said the floodwaters from Broken Creek have sat steady between 3.25m and 3.26m since midnight, with seven homes underwater on the outskirts of town.

Mr Quick said crews worked through the night to sandbag leaks in the levee, but it wasn’t clear if the water had peaked.

The first 48 hours after the peak would be the most important in ensuring waters did not breach the levee, he said.

Up to 200 people have left the town since the evacuation notice was given yesterday. More than 1400 residents have been told to leave.

Mr Quick said authorities were most concerned for elderly residents and those with mobility difficulties if the levees were breached.

“Our other main concern is for people playing in the water, particularly kids,” Mr Quick said.

“It seems inviting but considering we’ve seen the water go through piggeries, rip up fencing and swallow a couple of cars, including one of our own, there are unseen dangers in the water.”

Mr Quick said today’s Herald Sun photo of a SES car stranded in floods reinforced the message that no one should drive through floods.

“It goes to show how dangerous driving through flood waters is if our trained volunteers can get into trouble,” he said.

Two SES workers get struck in the floods in Nathalia.

SES incident controller Stephen Warren said residents could be in danger if the Broken Creek burst its banks.

“The worst-case scenario is that we end up with a breach that we cannot control,” he said. “It is possible that the majority of the town would have up to a metre of water over it.”

Premier Ted Baillieu last night urged residents to get out of town as soon as possible.

Mr Warren said the flood peak would remain for 24 hours and the water would not drop below 3m until after Sunday.

Nathalia was the centre of attention as rain-soaked northeast Victoria counted the cost.

Moira Shire Mayor Alex Monk said the bill for road damage was $10 million.

She said major dairy company Murray Goulburn had stopped picking up some farmers’ milk to process at its Cobram factory due to unsafe roads.

“But I believe the farmers are to be compensated for the milk, which is just being tipped out.”

A man stuck on top of his car in Nathalia.

Clean-up efforts in a dozen towns affected by the once-in-a-century flooding were on hold while emergency crews headed to Nathalia. Two SES officers were rescued by water police after trying to drive through flood waters.

For Peter and Pat Butler the warning came too late after their Cemetery Rd home was flooded about 5pm on Wednesday.

They were due to move out of the house in two weeks but yesterday had to wade through flood water to collect their treasured photo albums and childhood keepsakes.

A wall of sandbags around their home gave way as waters rose and within five minutes the house was swamped. 

“It was just instant. It seeped in around the skirting boards a quarter of an inch and then it just came through. Couldn’t save it, it was just a massive big waterfall coming up through the house.”

– with Katie Bice, AAP

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CLARIFICATION: Due to a production error, a previous version of this story contained an image that purported to be from the Nathalia flood area but which had been digitally altered. The image has been removed and we apologise for any confusion caused