VICSES Narre Warren Unit has experienced one of its busiest periods, responding to over 550 requests for assistance following significant storms in October.
More than two thirds of requests involved trees causing traffic hazards, building damage or blocking people in their homes.
Narre Warren State Emergency Service controller Damian Burns said it was a weather assault on the City of Casey.
“We have 64 volunteers but not all of them are currently available because of Covid-19 compliance,” Mr Burns said.
“We had more than 36 active members in shifts throughout the next three days clearing the requests for assistance.
“We also had three Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning emergency crews who helped us for two days and they were fantastic, it doubled our crews on the ground.”
The most damage occurred from Thursday 29 October until Thursday 4 November.
Mr Burns said SES volunteers had to prioritise the most urgent requests for assistance.
“We’ve now done 550 jobs and Narre Warren does an average of 700 jobs a year – that’s almost a year’s worth of volunteering in a few days,” he said.
“A lot of people weren’t home over the long weekend and were coming home on Sunday discovering damage, so we received a flood of ongoing calls.
“I think our volunteers should be commended for the time they gave.”
Sikh Volunteers Australia provided the Narre Warren volunteers with hot meals throughout the busy week.
“A lot of our volunteers appreciated that act of kindness,” Mr Burns said.
He said there were key ways to protect properties from storm damage.
“Your neighbours can be your biggest help; they are your first responders,” Mr Burns said.
“You can’t predict wet weather events, so keep your gutters clean so they don’t overflow and flood the home.”
