Calls for tourism support as floodwaters recede in parts of Victoria and Shepparton residents await peak river level

As some communities across Victoria continue to mop up after recent flooding, people in Shepparton are still waiting to see when the Goulburn River will peak. 

Emergency services say the river level in Shepparton may near 10.4 metres on Saturday, below the moderate flood level of 10.7 metres.

McCoys Bridge, about 40 kilometres north-east of Shepparton, may see a peak at the moderate flood level of 10 metres from Sunday into next week.

The warnings come after Goulburn Valley communities to the south of Shepparton experienced their local flood peak earlier in the week.

Discovery Parks, the operator of the Nagambie Lakes caravan park, said the site was temporarily closed due to minor flooding.

A spokesperson said floodwaters had started to recede at the park and initial inspections showed minimal impacts to property and infrastructure.

“With the risk of significant flooding now behind us, our attention turns to getting the park back up and running as soon as possible and we hope to reopen to tourist guests within the next week or so,” the spokesperson said.

“All guests with impacted bookings are being contacted and we appreciate the support being shown by the Nagambie community.

“We look forward to reopening soon and encourage tourists from right across Australia to come out to the Riverland and support these communities that have been doing it tough in recent years.”

Visitor economy impacts

Strathbogie Shire Council interim administrator Peter Stephenson visited Nagambie this week with federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell.

Mr Stephenson said he passed on the message that the local visitor economy has been hard hit by floods — both the current event and October 2022 flooding.

“These visitor economy areas only get one summer a year and if half of their summer is obliterated because of flood events then that is a lot of making up to do,” he said.

“For those who are thinking about going to Nagambie and other areas where they might enjoy some summer past times, don’t put it off.

“Things are returning to normal. Get up there and support the locals.”

Destination Goulburn Valley Board chairperson Eugenie Stragalinos said a lot of businesses across the region remained open for business.

“Speaking to some of our tourist areas like MOVE [Museum of Vehicle Evolution in Shepparton], for example, 70 per cent of their visitors are from outside the region,” she said.

“They have had lots of calls, with people cancelling group tours because of what they have seen and what they have heard.

“It’s very hard to then turn around and go, ‘No trust me. It’s OK. Roads are open’.

“It does make it quite a challenging time for our tourism industry.”

Internet outage in Mitchell Shire resolved

Further south, the National Broadband Network (NBN) said on Friday morning that an internet outage that had been impacting areas across the Mitchell Shire Council had been restored.

The outage, which began on Monday, affected about 700 homes and businesses in the Seymour and Tallarook areas of the shire.

The services were restored following the completion of a new but temporary cable across the Goulburn River.

Technicians were only able to get to the impacted sites on Wednesday afternoon to assess the damage.

Mosquito-borne disease warning

Regional community members are being advised to take precautions against mosquito-borne diseases,  including Ross River virus, Murray Valley encephalitis and Japanese encephalitis.

Victorian Health Minster Mary-Anne Thomas, who visited Seymour on Thursday, said pooling water and warm weather created ripe conditions for mosquito numbers to soar.

“It is important people in flood-affected areas know how to protect themselves from disease in the coming weeks,” she said.

“There are many simple steps Victorians can take to avoid being bitten, whether that is using mosquito repellent, covering up or limiting time outdoors, and getting the free Japanese encephalitis vaccine in high-risk areas.

“Community members have been advised to visit the health department website and the Better Health Channel if they want more information about mosquito-borne disease and vaccination against Japanese encephalitis.”