Residents still waiting on insurance for flood fix

ROCHESTER CFA captain Luke Warren was away on holiday when floodwaters swept through town last October.

Now, like many in the community, he’s still dealing with the aftermath both as a resident, and emergency service member.

Mr Warren is just one of many people still living in temporary housing, something he said he isn’t enjoying.

“Living in a caravan at the moment, which is wearing a bit thin, to be honest,” he said. “I am about six-foot-three and 130 kilograms, so I am not really built for caravans.”

Some insurance companies aren’t making it easy for people to get back in their homes Mr Warren said.

“That’s the difficult part for us, with our insurance we can’t get a straight answer,” he said. “It’s such a slow process.

“There is no dispute about whether we are insured or not, it’s about trying to get tradies and get materials as well as the insurance company dragging their heels.”

Mr Warren said Rochester was still a community in pain.

“It’s up and down around town at the moment,” he said. “Some days are good days; some days aren’t so good.

“I think the community has synched up, it’s an interesting phenomenon to witness.

“One day there may be some real positivity going through town and a few days later we are all a bit glum.”

Mr Warren said being out of town when the floods struck was difficult, not knowing what had happened to his home as well as not being there to fulfill his role as CFA leader.

“In 2011 our house didn’t flood, so we were reasonably confident that it wouldn’t flood this time,” he said.

“We were anxious to get back to find out though, and then we got back we discovered our house had been impacted.

“It was tough as the captain of the fire brigade. I am the leader of the brigade and there was a bit of, survivor’s guilt even, I’d say because I wasn’t there at the time.”

However, Mr Warren said one positive to come out of the event and subsequent aftermath was seeing the emergency services community getting behind the town.

“It was just amazing to see the support we got from other CFA teams,” he said.

“We have had brigades come out of metro Melbourne, as well as members from Bendigo and even Casterton.”