The RFS Mid-Murray Zone Fire Control Centre at Macknight Drive, Deniliquin now a temporary Emergency Control Centre for flood affected areas.
An Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) to co-ordinate the regional flood response has been established at Deniliquin’s Rural Fire Service Mid-Murray Zone Fire Control Centre, at the airport.
The RFS Mid-Murray Zone Fire Control Centre at Macknight Drive Deniliquin now a temporary Emergency Control Centre for flood affected areas.
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The SES is controlling the operation and the command centre which is being co-ordinated by Deputy Incident Controller for NSW SES Shane Hargrave, with a high focus on the Murray River.
On the Edward River, they expect the peak at Deniliquin to occur towards the end of October.
An evacuation centre has been established at the Deniliquin Sports Stadium and an emergency base camp has been set up at the Ute Muster site, with the capacity to accommodate up to 550 people, including emergency services personnel and evacuees. The stadium is also a logistical hub for companion pets and other animals.
The EOC is an expansion of operations at the airport facility involving the SES and RFS.
A team of around 18 people attached to the SES division are located at the operations centre allocating resources where they are needed most.
Trucks loaded with sandbags filled from a collaboration of emergency personnel and volunteers from all walks of life is one of the SES resources being heavily utilised across the region.
The presence of helicopters at the airport is also part of the SES arsenal of resources.
The Firebird 100 is primarily used for specialist intelligence gathering conducting water scanning, filming and mapping.
The team maps where the water is currently located, then the SES can work on a timeline of when triggers need to be met to allow communication with the communities at appropriate times.
“We don’t want to communicate too early and we definitely don’t want to communicate too late,” Mr Hargrave said.
“This process helps us keep that timeline on time, so we are accurately communicating where we need to.”
The operation oversees resources and deployment including an RFS strike team working on sandbagging, local SES, Fire Rescue with swift water rescue technicians, and rescues.
The Australian Defence Force also has a presence in the Echuca-Moama area ready to provide support in a surge capacity.
Mr Hargrave said every flood is different; communities change over time, landscape changes occur and any levee work conducted since a previous flood remains untested (such as Moama).
As such there is intelligence gathering and watching.
In Moama’s case, once the water gets towards the levee the team will do active monitoring of the levee itself, including any leeks or over-topping.
Murray River Council and NSW Public Works have been conducting work to ensure the integrity of the levee.
Mr Hargrave said the focus “will move downstream next towards Barham and along the Edward River to Deniliquin itself, which we expect to peak within the next 10 days or so”.
He said in collaborating with councils, the emergency services have the resources that if anything was to occur they can move quickly in response.
If the Bureau of Meteorology make any changes to predictions, the SES would then change warning structures to escalate that.
Mr Hargrave said the Emergency Operations Centre gives his team the ability to co-ordinate with functional centres such as animal control, police, hospital and others to communicate the flow and tasking for emergency management under the one roof.
There have been 46 requests for assistance and three flood rescues which are current as of 5am on October 18.
NSW SES has delivered around 125,000 sandbags to the Moama community.
The SES urges anyone requiring help to contact its 132 500 number or follow the ‘Murray NSW SES’ Facebook page for important updates and latest news.
The Firebird 100 utilised for specialist intelligence gathering via water scanning, mapping and filming. Andrew Macindoe is the Crew Mapping Officer, Adam Lantz is the pilot and Jinette Graham is the Tocumwal Deputy Unit Commander heading off to assess the Tocumwal area.
The Lifeflight Helicopter is here from QLD and has paramedics on standby for any incident response.
