After an Emergency

The time after an emergency is often spent cleaning up, or waiting to return home to assess damage. Often, it is also a good time to reassess your emergency plan to see if any changes need to be made. Check out the following sections to read more about what you can do after an emergency has passed. For more information about preparing for an emergency, visit our Preparing for an Emergency page.

Fire

Essential Water Replacement

The Country Fire Authority Act 1958 (s30 and s32) provides powers to the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) to take water from any waterway or any other water supply on public or private land for firefighting purposes.

The Essential Water Replacement Scheme was put into place for the replace of essential water used during bushfire operations by Victoria's fire agencies.

In the event of a fire, regardless of where it starts, if water needed to essential use is taken from domestic tanks and stock or irrigation dams for firefighting purposes, it will be replaced (quantity taken) when requested by the landholder.

Essential water is defined as water required to sustain:

  • the health of affected residents and pets;
  • the health and productivity of their stock; and
  • agricultural and horticultural crops, permanent plantings and intensive industries.

If you believe essential water needs replacing on your property, please submit an essential water replacement claim form.

For a copy of the form please visit the DELWP website.

Flood

There are a number of resources and videos available to provide information on various aspects of flood recovery.

Heatwave

After the weather has cooled, it is a good time to review or fix anything that you discovered during the emergency. For more information about how to prepare for a heatwave, visit our Preparing for an Emergency page.

Storm

After the storm has passed; there may be damage to your property or nearby infrastructure such as roads or powerlines. If it is safe to do so, you should check your property to assess the damage, and visit our Make a Request page to report any faults or issues that you may find.

 

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