Helping hand: Sandbags are loaded into boats and a car as people work to help reinforce a wall that had become compromised on Goulburn Rd in Echuca. Photo: Steve Huntley
Residents and members of the community have rushed to help homes at risk of flooding on Goulburn Rd in Echuca’s east.
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A wall of sandbags protecting properties along Goulburn Rd had been compromised, with efforts being made to repair and heighten it to protect water from getting through.
A distressed call for assistance was posted on Facebook on Tuesday morning asking for people to drop off sandbags or bring pumps to help protect homes.
“Sheer desperation is setting in at the bottom end of Goulburn Rd ... PLEASE if you have unused bags please take them to the top of Pakenham St/Goulburn Rd for pick up,” the post read.
And the community responded in droves.
Cars and trailers filled with sandbags lined Goulburn Rd, waiting to unload the much needed bags. Within an hour, a huge pile of well over 100 bags had been collected.
Essential items: A mountain of sandbags on Goulburn Rd waiting to be taken to homes at risk of flooding. Photo: Bransen Gibson
With parts of Goulburn Rd already submerged in water that is difficult for cars to get through, sandbags were loaded into tinnies and taken out to the homes, where they were then added to the wall.
Robyn McCluskey lives in one of the homes that was at risk of flooding.
“The walls broke during the night and I am not sure whether they have lost the other houses or not,” Ms McCluskey said.
“We had a lot of plastic bags and they have all split. They are trying to replace the walls that have split with these hessian bags.
“There is no power out there now. We didn’t have much power but the other houses did, but they haven’t got it now.”
By later in the afternoon, the walls had been reinforced and topped up and extra pumps that had been dropped off were up and running as well, with work still being done to help save the homes.
Ms McCluskey said it had been a huge effort to try and keep the floodwaters at bay.
“We had six houses in a block and we had them all leveed around as best we could. We all worked for over a week to do that,” she said.
“We have had pumps out there, and every day and every night they have had to go from house to house to house and turn pumps on, turn them off, refuel them, re-prime them — you have to have someone on deck all the time.
“We were able to use some submersible pumps to start with, but now there is no power.
“Everyone is exhausted, and my family won’t give up because they have come this far.”
As sandbags were loaded on to boats to be taken down Goulburn Rd, Ms McCluskey thanked her extended family and the community for all of their help.
“The community have been amazing,” she said.
“My family has been amazing as well, they have got the troops all together.
“They have been sandbagging for a week before we needed them here, so without them and the call-out for help ... the people just came from everywhere.”
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