The major storm event that hit East Gippsland on 13 February has caused widespread damage across many parts of our shire and impacted residents with power and telecommunications outages.
The storm has impacted some of our services and infrastructure.

Please follow VicEmergency app to stay updated on issues in your area.

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Community services

Last updated 22 February 2024 at 9am

‍‍Personal Hardship Assistance

The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) has activated the Vic Recovery Hotline for the community to apply for Personal Hardship Assistance Program (PHAP) relief payments.

Application advice is now live on the VicEmergency website under the Relief and Recovery Section for the bushfires and storms.

All requests for PHAP payments should be directed to the Vic Recovery Hotline on 1800 560 760 (press 9 for an interpreter).

DFFH’s Personal Hardship Assistance Program (PHAP) relief payments are available to Victorians for the 13 February fires and storms:

• whose principal place of residence is within an evacuation area for the fires; or
• whose principal place of residence (house) has had direct damage from the fires or storms; and
• who have unmet immediate relief needs.

These payments are not available for people who are experiencing power outage alone.  

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AusNet Services refunds/compensation

Guaranteed Service Levels  
You may be entitled to a Guaranteed Service Level (GSL) payment from your electricity distributor if it does not meet service standards for supply restoration or reliability.
Supply restoration payments are based on how much time you were without electricity in a year.
What compensation is available?

More than 18 hours of unplanned sustained interruptions per financial year $130  

More than 30 hours of unplanned sustained interruptions per financial year $190

More than 60 hours of unplanned sustained interruptions per financial year $380

More than 12 hours unplanned sustained interruption on a Major Event Day* $90

* A 'major event day' is an industry term used to indicate abnormal performance in supply reliability due to events outside of the distributor's control, such as extreme weather and storms

For more information see their Unplanned Outages Compensation Fact Sheet.

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Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund

GERF has launched an appeal to storm those impacted by the storm event across Gippsland.

Donations to the appeal can be made via the GERF website www.gerf.org.au and all donations over $2 are tax deductible.

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Council services

Services and facilities not listed on this page are operating as normal.

Last updated 22 February 2024 at 9am.

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Road closures

Please see our Road Closures page.

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Tree hazards

We have our crews and contractors clearing fallen trees, picking up branches and assessing hazards.  

Given the amount of damage and how widespread it is, it will take some time to complete all required works. Issues will be prioritised and high risk or high impact works completed first. This means that there may be some minor works still evident in the coming days.

Due to the high number of trees over roads, our crews and contractors have cleared enough debris to allow safe passage for now. They will return to clear the rest of the tree at a later date.

We are clearing trees from Council-managed roads and land. You may see crews in your area, but they are not collecting from private properties.

Please do not drag green waste onto the kerb or roadside, as it will not be collected. Disposal is a matter for the resident. Other response agencies have also reported experiencing this issue.

Our mowing crews are assisting with the tree clean up. We appreciate the community's understanding if the grass gets a little longer than usual in parts of our shire in the coming weeks.

To report a hazard, please contact feedback@egipps.vic.gov.au

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Walking tracks

Our staff and contractors have been working to inspect and make affected walking tracks safe, as well as a general clean up, however this will take some time.  Please be aware that some tracks may be closed for safety reasons until hazards can be removed.  We ask that track users respectfully comply with signage and directions, these closures are for your own safety. We look forward to having these open as soon as possible.

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Waste transfer stations and landfill sites

Following an announcement of changes to Victorian Government regulations on 16 February, we will be accepting storm damage waste that goes into landfill free of charge until Tuesday 30 April.
Residents disposing of storm waste at our landfill and waste transfer stations will be asked to take this waste over our weighbridge and register their name and address with us.
Note - not all sites accept green waste. Find your nearest site and accepted items.
While Council had quickly established a free green waste and spoiled food disposal period for residents, this new announcement extends to other items damaged by the storm.
Residents are advised they may experience queues at our waste sites and we ask people to be patient.
There are long queues at some sites. We ask for your patience.
We also ask that storm clean up waste is prioritised and normal garden waste is limited during these times to reduce wait times for those cleaning up from the storm event.
Residents will be asked to provide their name and address to assist in recovering costs via relief and recovery funding.

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