By Vanessa Chircop
HOBSONS Bay spent much of last week in clean-up mode after an intense storm hit the municipality on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 February.
Extreme rain and winds ravaged the area damaging businesses, roads, trees, and buildings.
A council meeting last week heard a number of council buildings including most of the libraries, council offices, several kindergartens and community centres as well as Williamstown Town Hall were damaged during the storm.
Hobsons Bay works and assets director Phillip McDonald told the council the rain was so intense the underground drainage system couldn’t handle it.
“Friday night and Saturday morning in Laverton alone 120mm of rain fell,” he said, “In other parts of the municipality there was up to 150mm measured.”
“There were many roads affected by flooding – at Millers Rd, Maidstone St, The Strand, Mason St – and the rainfall was so intense in a number of instances that the concrete drainage pit covers actually popped out under the pressure of the water.
“It was a rather severe weather event and I hope it doesn’t happen again because it will incur quite a bit of cost to actually fix it up – but we’ll hopefully be able to claim some of that back on insurance.”
However Mr McDonald told Star it was still too early to determine the total cost the repairs will incur. Stephen Tennyson, whose business Central Pipe was severely damaged in the storm, said he had set up a temporary office out of a lunchroom and expected to be running his business from it for well over a month. “The clean up crew are here now – we’re basically cleaning up and securing the site,” he said.
