FIRE and flood damage in Wellington Shire is still being assessed, and it’s too early to determine the full extent of the damage, according to Wellington Shire Council Mayor Ian Bye.
Cr Bye noted that the media reported on the Saunders family, who lost their Briagolong home in the fires on October 1, but said that as the final report was incomplete, it’s possible that other properties were affected.
“Potentially there are others, that report has not been done yet,” Cr Bye told the Gippsland Times on Tuesday, October 10.
“Then they’ll (go out) next week and (assess) the flood damage. Because some roads are still flooded and still subsiding.
“So that full report will be at least a week (away). And I assume this week we’ll have the fire report – a finalisation of what was damaged and what was lost.”
Cr Bye said that council is supporting the Saunders family, and also some people who were in the Dargo caravan park.
“Their on-site caravans were actually washed away, so we’ve supported them as well with somewhere to reside,” he said.
Cr Bye said everyone involved will learn what they can from last week’s emergencies.
“Emergency services will get together, they’ll do a debrief on what happened and figure out what they can do to improve with our communities. That always occurs,” he said.
By Tuesday 8pm, more than 30 council-managed roads had reopened, following a large amount of work completed by crews.
