Mel-B Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Hi Melbourne folk Could you educate me on how one knows if an area is prone to flooding/fire risk? I remember some time after we applied in 2008 there were pictures all over the media of this WALL of fire in Melbourne and yikes it looked terrifying?!!Just wondering if there are some areas that are more at risk than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansaPlease Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Where I live is considered to be high risk, because we live next to a large bush land with a lot of gum trees, but to be honest it doesn't really bother us. We just keep an eye on the weather and fire risk during summer, and have a vague plan to get out if anything comes near. There are usually only a couple of days in the summer where risk is high. The CFA website tells you which areas are high risk and keeps you well up to date when fires occur. The trick is to just be prepared but not let it take over your life. The downside is fire risk but the upside is we are surrounded by birds and animals. For the record, the fires you were talking about were probably not Melbourne, but on the outskirts and beyond. There is very little risk in suburban Melbourne. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 It depends on what you call suburban Melbourne, if you live on the edge of the North or East, you are still in fire danger territory, if you live in the South East, you are more prone to flooding, if you live in the North West, there could still be fire danger but flooding is unlikely, as the area is drier.Just remember, if you live anywhere near a gum tree forest, it is a fire hazard, they burn and explode and send the embers flying, sometimes kilometers away! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansaPlease Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 It depends on what you call suburban Melbourne, if you live on the edge of the North or East, you are still in fire danger territoryYep, agree, that's where we are. Basically the more concrete you see, the less you're in danger, the more trees and bush, the higher the risk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnyskies Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 (edited) Agree with the above. Friends in Eltham could see the fire in January 2009 - but Eltham has a lot of tall gum trees. Their suburb was fine, but it was close. We had ash in our yard, and we were definitely not in a fire risk area.Friends in Kangaroo Ground had fire very close them this year - it got a bit scary for them, but they are on a small holding.Generally if you live in a normal residential suburb that doesn't have a forest close by you should be fine from a bushfire perspective.If you are worried about floods there are maps available that show flood zones - http://www.melbournewater.com.au/Planning-and-building/Flood-and-planning-schemes/Pages/Flood-and-planning-schemes.aspx - we used that when we were looking to buy. Best rule of thumb is watch out for rivers or streams. We looked at one house in Glen Iris that had a parkland in front of the house and a small brook running at the end of the parkland. On further investigation we found out that the flood zone for that area was all the way up to the bottom of the garden of that house, a distance of about 60m. So if you see that the area has had flooding probably best to try and find a house on a bit of higher ground and not in the dip at stream level. Edited July 11, 2014 by Sunnyskies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansaPlease Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 That reminds me. Not only do we live in a high risk fire area, we also love right on the Plenty River. We're stuffed! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel-B Posted July 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Hahahaha HansaPlease,your area looks AMAZING! I saw plenty of houses I could happily live in, area looks great Thanks for the map Sunnieskies, and the info Mara. I just want all the facts, would hate to escape the circus just to get my few belongings washed away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 The amazing fact of Australian life is: Should you happen to be caught in fire or flood, the Aussies all around you will rally and help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronwyn&Co Posted July 12, 2014 Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 That reminds me. Not only do we live in a high risk fire area, we also love right on the Plenty River. We're stuffed! Hansa can you pump water up for roof sprinklers? Just wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansaPlease Posted July 12, 2014 Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 Hansa can you pump water up for roof sprinklers? Just wondering.Hahaha, not a bad idea! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnyskies Posted July 12, 2014 Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 Works if you have a sufficient water supply and provided the piping from water source to roof doesn't burn and melt. But if you have a raging fire being fueled by eucalyptus I don't think it will save you or the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansaPlease Posted July 12, 2014 Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) Doubt the council would approve of me dipping into the plenty river And the cyclists would have to bunny-hop the pipe across the footpath Edited July 12, 2014 by HansaPlease Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted July 12, 2014 Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) Doubt the council would approve of me dipping into the plenty river And the cyclists would have to bunny-hop the pipe across the footpath We stop cycling in big fires Edited July 12, 2014 by Fish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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