The amount of tree carnage caused by deadly storms that swept across Victoria last week would “fill the MCG”, according to the Acting Premier.
James Merlino, who lives in the Dandenong Ranges, the region worst hit by violent winds last Wednesday night and Thursday morning, said the damage was “unprecedented”.
It comes as Melburnians still reeling from the wild weather event were told they would be without power for at least another three weeks.
The state government has also declared a state energy emergency to allow urgent repairs to take place at Yallourn Power Station where a dam wall is threatening to give way and flood the coalmine.
Mr Merlino also announced a new prolonged power outage payment of $1680 per week for each affected household.
Households that are eligible will be those without power from June 17 onwards.
Mr Merlino said he had been in discussions with Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack to request the federal government split the payment 50/50 with the state government.
He said Bushfire Recovery Victoria would also take the lead in the recovery efforts, as the damage and clean up was beyond the reach of any local government.
“We’ve got tree debris that would fill the MCG here in the Dandenongs,” Mr Merlino said.
“We’ve got massive trees lying all over the place, and we need to get all of that support co-ordinated.
“The immediate focus for myself, for the government and our engagement with the commonwealth is what support can we put in place for households in the Dandenong Ranges that will be without power in the coldest weeks of the year?
“I live out here and have lived in this region my whole life. I’ve never seen the extent of the damage here in the Dandenong Ranges.”
He said the new payment was the government’s immediate response to what would be a “very difficult” next few weeks for households in affected areas.
Earlier, electricity supplier AusNet revealed customers in the worst-affected areas of the Dandenong Ranges “should prepare to be without power for an extended time”.
The company has admitted its initial estimates of when the power would be restored were wrong, and it now believed the network would not be back online until July 10.
It means some homes and businesses will be without power for more than 30 days after it was wiped out by the devastating storms on June 9 and 10.
About 3000 homes and businesses in Kalorama, Mount Dandenong, Olinda, Sassafras, Sherbrooke, The Basin, Tremont, Upwey and Ferny Creek are affected by the delay.
About 700 homes in Kallista, Sherbrooke and The Patch are also without tap water for at least the next two days after an equipment failure during the deadly storms resulted in potentially unsafe water entering the drinking water system.
“We are deeply sorry for the distress this has caused,” AusNet said in a statement.
“We now fully understand the extent of the damage and the scale of the recovery and repair ahead of us.
“As we progress through repairs, the power will come back on gradually across the region.”
AusNet said backup crews of about 100 workers from interstate had been called in to help local teams rebuild the network.
It said field crews were working as safely and as quickly as possible in challenging conditions, and the company’s number one priority was to restore the network.
About 300,000 homes and buildings lost power at the height of the storm on Wednesday night and Thursday morning last week, with all bar 8000 buildings restored.
Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp said 98 homes were deemed uninhabitable and 86 others were habitable but suffered significant damage.
Another 300 buildings were inundated by floodwater in Gippsland, and two people lost their lives after becoming trapped in their cars.
The damage bill is likely to stretch into the tens of millions of dollars with more than 6500 insurance claims already lodged since last Wednesday’s weather event.
“There is nothing short of absolute commitment from those businesses to get power on as soon as we can,” Mr Crisp said.
He said linesmen trying to restore power had been working 16-hour days for the last five to six days to get the network back up and running.
AusNet spokesman Steve Brown said it had to rebuild the power from scratch.
“It took us until Monday to get the crew in to assess the damage on and around Mount Dandenong,” he told 3AW.
“We’re just going to have to rebuild whole swathes of the network there.
“This storm did more damage to our network than we’ve ever seen before.”
Mr Brown said that meant new poles and new wires would need to be installed, along with a big clean up.
Federal Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud confirmed Australian Defence Force support was “ready to stand up and get moving” and would be on the ground on Thursday.
He said further ADF support was available but was at “the discretion of the Victorian government”.
“Hopefully, the Victorian government will take that offer up, but it’s at their discretion,” he told Today on Thursday.
“They’re a sovereign government. We have to respect that. They know our capability. Our ADF have proven that time and time again through natural disasters.”
AusNet urged residents to contact their local council for information on their nearest relief centre where they could access power and hot showers.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiowFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS90ZWNobm9sb2d5L2Vudmlyb25tZW50L3Jlc2lkZW50cy1pbi1kYW5kZW5vbmctcmFuZ2VzLXdpbGwtYmUtd2l0aG91dC1wb3dlci1mb3ItdGhyZWUtbW9yZS13ZWVrcy9uZXdzLXN0b3J5L2Y4MzJhNjRlZjEwZDBhNmE0ZDJiZTU1MzE5YTM4Nzkw0gGjAWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLm5ld3MuY29tLmF1L3RlY2hub2xvZ3kvZW52aXJvbm1lbnQvcmVzaWRlbnRzLWluLWRhbmRlbm9uZy1yYW5nZXMtd2lsbC1iZS13aXRob3V0LXBvd2VyLWZvci10aHJlZS1tb3JlLXdlZWtzL25ld3Mtc3RvcnkvZjgzMmE2NGVmMTBkMGE2YTRkMmJlNTUzMTlhMzg3OTA?oc=5
2021-06-17 01:30:00Z
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