By Peter Douglas
MORE than 500 homes in Monbulk are still without power, more than one week after the violent storm that saw winds of up to 120km/h lash the region.
According to the AusNet Services Outage Tracker, of the 647 homes still without power across Victoria – as of Monday, 17 October – most were in the Dandenong Ranges, with 21 homes still listed as awaiting connection in the Emerald to Cockatoo area.
Though it’s a far cry from the tens of thousands of households originally affected, with 2200 customers remaining off-supply in the Yarra Ranges last Thursday, 13 October.
Some estimates are that more than 1000 buildings were damaged, while more than 2000 trees were blown down.
AusNet Services has apologised to those still without power, but insisted they were working diligently in rectifying the situation, after what they described as the most damaging storm to hit their network in more than eight years.
In the wake of the devastation, Minister for Justice, Michael Keenan, and Victorian Minister for Emergency Services, James Merlino, on Sunday, 16 October, announced the activation of additional disaster assistance for Victorians affected by storms in the Yarra Ranges Council area.
Minister Keenan said assistance was being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State ‘Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangement’ (NDRRA).
Mr Merlino said that emergency re-establishment grants were now being made available to eligible households, in addition to the emergency relief assistance payments which are available to all storm-affected communities.
“These grants provide assistance to people whose homes have been damaged so that they can clean-up their properties and replace damaged contents,” Mr Merlino said.
Meanwhile, a parent of three Menzies Creek Primary School students has urged the community to support the storm-damaged school’s Family Festival on Saturday, 22 October.
During the storm, a large tree fell and crushed one of the buildings and a playground, causing major damage.
Mother Donna Arancibia has three children at the school – Heath, 12, Jocelyn, 10, and Fraser, 8.
Incredibly, Ms Arancibia said portable buildings had already arrived at the school and there had been much work behind the scenes to ensure classes could continue.
Although she said there were many items that couldn’t be easily replaced.
“The sensory garden and totem poles, which the children painted, are now gone,” she said.
“Many of the teachers’ resources were lost when the tree destroyed the main building.
“These are items that insurance will not likely cover.”
She said the festival represented the perfect opportunity for the community to help the school get back on its feet.
“We’re not asking for donations, but we’re just saying come down and support our festival,” she said.
“It’s always an amazing day, but it’s now more important than ever to show support.
“The hills is a strong community and will get around the school, it’s just important that we get the word out.”
The Menzies Creek Primary School Family Festival will be held on Saturday, 22 October, from 2pm, at the school grounds.
Individuals in Yarra Ranges can now access the following emergency grants to relieve personal hardship and distress:
* Emergency relief assistance payments, which provide payments of up to $520 per adult and $260 per child (up to a maximum of $1300 per household) area available to help meet immediate needs, including emergency food, shelter, clothing, and personal items.
* Emergency re-establishment grants, which provide up to $32,500 per eligible household experiencing financial hardship who have been flood-affected at their primary place of residence.
The grants area available for clean-up, emergency accommodation, repairs, re-building (a principal place of residence), and replacing some damaged contents.
Re-establishment grants of up to $32,500 per household are also available to eligible individuals in the flood-affected Southern Grampians and Buloke Shire areas.
Disaster assistance has also been activate for 30 council across Victoria that have been impacted by the floods and storms.
Anyone who has been affected by storms and is suffering personal hardship and distress should call the Victorian Emergency Recovery Information Line on 1300 799 232.
Information about the assistance can also be found on the Vic Emergency website at www.emergency.vic.gov.au/relief or on the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website at www.disasterassist.gov.au.
