Vera Hemkes, Harcourt 

The floods in Victoria present our community with a stark dilemma. 

We in Victoria all bore witness to the recent floods in NSW and hearts poured out for those left homeless and penniless; often in a situation that was really not of their making. Many affected residents were unable to afford flood insurance or not able to obtain flood insurance. Or they simply resided in an area that had not witnessed floods before. 

In these changing times of climate extremes, we are faced with the reality that we must work together as a community to confront what lies before us. That is … more extreme weather situations that will leave all of us vulnerable to floods, fires and storm activities. 

Had we foreseen that Victoria now lay under the mantle of flood threats, we may well have prepared ourselves in a more resilient manner. We may well have considered decision- making ahead of time. But no-one is to blame for situations that they could never have foreseen. 

I live in a small rural town. Recently I became concerned about future housing development proposed for our community and I went to the local Mount Alexander Shire planning officer on a Friday where folk can consult over planning issues. I was seeking to uncover whether there were Flood Overlays in the tiny hamlet of Harcourt where I live. In the time I’d lived in this township I’d witnessed two floods: one in 2011 and one in 2016. I wanted to see where the Flood Overlays were located. Strangely enough, there were no flood overlay zonings in the area. I was astonished, really. How could this be? 

Today (October 13, 2022) my township experienced an extreme flood event. The Barkers Creek has nearly reached the tiny bridge in the parkland. The mighty red gums are submerged in two or three metres of water. I expect this is unheard of in the history of the town. 

I proceeded to a newly developed housing estate that lay close to the creek. Lovely houses on small blocks where people could still afford to buy a new home. The creek had become a raging river. It was lapping against the houses closest to the creek. All the properties in this small court were at once vulnerable to flooding. 

For the local community, it was predictable. But I wondered what the responsibility of council was in protecting people from buying properties here. Seriously. Where were the Flood Overlays? 

I wandered down to this small estate to capture some photos of the flooding creek for my local community newsletter. I could see down to the end of the court where a number of people were gathered with sandbags and sand, desperately working to get enough bags in place to protect their homes that were now under threat.

As I was taking photos, a man called out: “Instead of taking photos, come and help us protect our properties.” You know, it’s a call from the heart. I responded, as did a new acquaintance of similar age. We stood in the pounding rain for a long time bagging up sand to protect the homes of people we didn’t know. But hey, this is our community. We laughed and cajoled to keep up our spirits. There’s something very important here that needs to be thought about. As me and my new friend Liz bagged sand for the small community, we were uplifted by the task at hand. This is about community. This is about helping others in crisis.

Although I’m 69 and new acquaintance Liz was 70, we worked very hard to keep pace and fill sand bags to save people’s homes. The residents thanked us prolifically. Indeed, here were two aging women helping in a dire situation. 

The residents told us that people had appeared in their court to mock them for buying a property so close to a creek. Another family came down in their car. A man called out and laughed at the residents. In the vehicle with him, he had his wife and children. He didn’t come to help. He just came to laugh. 

One has to wonder what has been lost. In this region, we supposedly pride ourselves on being part of a rural community imbued with the spirit of working together as a community. 

Trite as that statement may seem, it bears witness to what has been lost. I can say with clear honesty, my heart poured out to the people in this new housing development. They were simply trying to find a place to live within their budget in these strange times. 

I hope no-one forgets the importance of being part of a strong community.