June 2021 Extreme Weather Event Community Report June 2021 Extreme Weather Event – Community Report Message from the Emergency Management Commissioner The June 2021 extreme weather event had a significant impact on communities across many areas of Victoria. The impacts ranged from property damage, flooding, fallen trees, downed powerlines, road closures, prolonged power outages, telecommunication outages and damage to critical infrastructure. The affected communities suffered considerable economic impact, social upheaval and emergency fatigue due to several emergencies occurring at the same time. Labelled as one of the largest operational events in Victoria State Emergency Service’s history the June 2021 extreme weather event was also, at the time, the largest recorded power outage event that had ever occurred in Victoria. The enormity and extensive impact of this event saw the need to identify key lessons identified from the extreme weather event that are relevant to the community, including what went well and areas for improvement, as well as enable emergency management agencies to inform ongoing continuous improvement, organisational planning and operational processes. By capturing community sentiment and feedback around the extreme weather event through community conversations and surveying, this Community Report reflects a number of residents’ experiences before, during and after the extreme weather event and describes the context that surrounded these. Through this approach, we have identified a number of key themes, including:  Weather intelligence and predictive services  Community engagement and risk awareness  Public information  Relief operations  Transition to recovery I invite you and your community to read through the case studies and lessons identified within this report and learn of the significant work that has since been undertaken to address the outcomes of this event. Utilising the opportunities that come from internal and external reviews supports the emergency management sector to further strengthen a culture of learning and ongoing improvement of emergency management before, during and after emergencies. This comprehensive Community Report reflects a coordinated approach to continuous improvement by openly and transparently sharing lessons based on evidence in the form of experiences, expert knowledge and community sentiment. Andrew Crisp APM Emergency Management Commissioner Page 2 of 32 June 2021 Extreme Weather Event – Community Report Contents Message from the Emergency Management Commissioner.................................................................................2 What is the purpose of this report?........................................................................................................................ 4 How does the sector learn from emergencies?..................................................................................................... 4 Learning lessons......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Learning from this event............................................................................................................................................. 5 Learning from previous events.................................................................................................................................... 6 Weather intelligence and predictive services.............................................................................................................. 7 Community and control arrangements........................................................................................................................ 7 What happened during the extreme weather event?.................................................................................................. 8 Major impacts across Victoria..................................................................................................................................... 9 Relief and recovery................................................................................................................................................... 11 Funding Support....................................................................................................................................................... 11 How were communities engaged through the extreme weat