SES out as rain storms strike

By Lia Bichel
WILD weather had the Narre Warren SES flat out last week, attending to about 50 jobs across the City of Casey.
Hail, rain, lightning and thunder swept through the state on 9 November, leaving many local residents with property damage.
Narre Warren SES Unit controller Tim Howell said the SES were prepared for the storm, as they had spent the Tuesday before checking out flood prone areas. They were on standby when the storms hit about 7pm. He said residents also seemed to heed warnings from the media and braced themselves for a wild storm.
Pearcedale and Hampton Park were the hardest hit in the municipality, with flash flooding hitting several homes and main streets.
“There was two major parts to the storm,” Mr Howell said. “There was flooding in Pearcedale and Hampton Park and hail damage in Narre Warren and Berwick.”
Mr Howell said many residents were anxious about the storms due to the floods that ripped through the City of Casey in February.
“The flooding events that happened in February is still on people’s mind, which is understandable,” Mr Howell said.
“But we had extra resources available so we could deal with the jobs quickly and try to ease their anxiety.”
Mr Howell said it was a busy night, but he was pleased with how the SES members operated.