Message from the Mayor: Thank you to our emergency services
Published on 15 June 2021
In the wake of the storms that hit Victoria on Wednesday and left more than 160,000 people across the state without power last night, I want to reach out to those in Frankston City to let you know how your Council is supporting you, and can continue to provide help.
Where fallen trees have impacted on power lines, arborists with our Parks and Vegetation team are working with our contractors today to help the SES and energy companies restore power.
As I write this, I believe there are small pockets in Seaford, Frankston and Langwarrin where this is still an issue.
I want to thank you for keeping Council informed about your neighbourhoods; our Customer Service Team had a huge day yesterday with more than 760 calls and 154 live chat conversations.
Since the storms, about 1,300 requests for assistance have been logged from members of our community. Issues have ranged from fallen trees and limbs, blown over fences and drainage problems, with affected areas including roads, paths, parks, reserves and private property.
During such an emergency, our first priority is safety. This often involves cutting up fallen trees and limbs and stacking them up on nature strips.
Around 105 staff from the Operations Centre (most of the workforce) have been deployed to assist with the clean-up. Because our immediate focus is on reducing risk, it may be a few weeks before we can collect those piles, so please be patient.
Noting the sad news that one man near Sale has lost his life in flooding, I want to thank our Council team and the Frankston State Emergency Service for their extraordinary efforts that kept our community safe, with a handful of houses and cars seriously damaged and power lines down, but no loss of life.
I was informed that Frankston SES has had over 200 calls for assistance in Frankston City alone, 161 of which related to fallen trees and 28 to building damage, while their crews also assisted fire services at other incidents.
However, Frankston SES legend Brian McMannis, who in 2015 had local road McMannis Way named in his honour, indicated that overall requests for assistance were in excess of 500 (with 411 involving trees), when taking into consideration the other suburbs they service, like Mt Eliza and Carrum.
His crews are still working their way through around 115 jobs, so again, please be patient if you are waiting for help.
You may be interested to know how the emergency response teams in Frankston City work together when such an extreme weather event occurs.
Many Council managers were on deck throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday, working with local police and firemen, and our wonderful Frankston State Emergency Service.
Police were also informing Council officers of relevant incidents coming from triple 0 calls, and our after-hours call service also passed critical information on.
Our community has fared better than a lot of others in Victoria during this event and I want to thank our Frankston SES, local officers from Victoria Police and CFA crews, Council’s Manager Operations, Brad Hurren, our Municipal Emergency Management Officer, Jarred Stevens and City Works Supervisor, Andrew Sawyer, who manned Council’s 1300 after hours number to help co-ordinate support, our Parks and Vegetation team and contracted arborists, and of course, our customer service team.
I’d also like to thank everyone else who has assisted and is continuing to assist, including neighbours who are helping each other and checking in on those who are living alone.
As we clean up, Council will continue to work with our emergency services and support them in whatever way we can, as we have by providing hot meals to our SES workers who are still on deck in the cold.
Beyond our critical response, Council will continue to deliver services to the community such as regular street cleaning and tree maintenance that will help restore our neighbourhoods - and we are currently waiving a number of usual Council permit fees to assist residents undertaking their own clean ups.
If you are continuing to have issues as a result of the storms, please utilise the following supports:
�� You can quickly and easily report issues online: https://bit.ly/2TPyvPb
�� Or chat to with us via live chat on our website: www.frankston.vic.gov.au
☎️ If you are experiencing an emergency as a result of the winds, please call 000.