A $75,000 study will help people living and working in and around Briagolong to better cope with flash flooding.
The Federal and State governments have announced they will jointly fund the Briagolong Flash Flood Study together with Wellington Shire Council.
The Nationals Member for Gippsland Darren Chester today said the study would determine the extent, depths, heights and velocities of flood events in the Briagolong area.
“This information is incredibly important to Wellington Shire Council in its land use and infrastructure planning, in its emergency response and in raising community awareness of potential hazards,” Mr Chester said.
“Our community’s ability to cope in a natural disaster is underpinned by the amount of work that is done beforehand in identifying risks and undertaking the work needed to mitigate those risks.
“Gippsland has a long history of flooding. While we can’t predict when the next flood event will occur, the work can to be done now to prepare.”
Wellington Shire Council Mayor Carolyn Crossley said a high number of locations in the shire had been identified as having a significant flood risk.
“The Briagolong flood study was one of the flood mitigation actions identified in the West Gippsland Floodplain Management Strategy,” Cr Crossley said.
“We know the danger and disruption that flooding can pose to people living and working in our shire. We hope this study will help us to better plan for and manage flooding when it occurs.”
The Briagolong Flash Flood Study was one of 36 projects in Victoria to receive a share of $5.8 million in government funding under the National Partnership Agreement (NPA) on Natural Disaster Resilience.
The successful projects, announced by the Federal Minister for Justice Michael Keenan and the Victorian Minister for Emergency Services James Merlino, aim to build more sustainable and resilient communities.
“Although many natural disasters are unpredictable, we can all be better prepared, and we cannot act alone. We are working with state and local governments to reduce the potentially destructive impacts of future disasters such as bushfires and floods,” Mr Keenan said.
“That is why under the NPA funding is cost-shared, with $3.4 million contributed by the Commonwealth, $2.4 million from the Victorian State Government, and $4.2 million from funding recipients.”
Mr Merlino said the selected projects would be led by state agencies, local councils, non-government organisations, volunteer organisations and researchers.
