Barrier: The Echuca levee bank next to the rising Murray River water levels.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
The race is on for the construction of a massive levee bank in Echuca ahead of the expected peak of the Murray River this week.
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The levee bank, set to be about 2.5km in length, is being built following the news at Monday’s community meeting at Echuca East that pre-existing levees were not big enough.
The meeting was told the Murray River was expected to peak in the coming days.
“The peak of the Murray River is expected to 95.9m (AHD) at the Echuca Wharf,” an official from Emergency Management Victoria said at the meeting.
“What we don’t understand yet, because of the significance of this event, are the things like the levee bank that was built around Moama before the records were taken.
“This is potentially what we talk about being a one-in-1000-year event.
“There are things that are happening that have never been recorded before. I am not sugar-coating this, this is serious.”
If that eventuates it would be the highest recorded level since 1870, when the river reached 96.2m.
Even though work is under way to construct the levee, it will not be enough to protect all homes in the area that are on the river side of the levee.
Widespread inundation is also expected in Echuca Village, which is outside the range of the levee.
Residents can see the expected flooding in the area by checking this map.
Awash: Aerial photos of flooding between Rochester and Echuca.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
The interactive map lets people put in their home address, which shows exactly where their property is in relation to the predicted floodwaters.
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