“The rent you paid for being on Earth”: Meet the volunteers helping our communities recover from natural emergencies

Heavy rain and high-speed winds batter a crew of six workers as they cut up their 20th fallen tree at 3am. Little do they know, they face another two nights of 12-hour shifts – all without getting paid.

This was the reality for volunteer crews at Maroondah’s State Emergency Service (SES) unit during the October 2022 storms, as they redirected flood waters on Bayswater Road, sandbagged properties and removed fallen trees from roads.

☔Changing conditions: Maroondah SES unit controller Rainer Langhoff said since starting with the Maroondah unit as a volunteer close to 14 years ago, changing weather patterns have made storms and severe rainfall events “more unpredictable” and “more severe” than ever before.

• 🗣️“That’s clearly why we've got to do even more to be prepared at all times for anything that will come our way,” Langhoff told the Eastern Melburnian.

🌡️Why is this happening? The CSIRO’S 2024 State of the Climate report showed that with each degree the Earth warms, the atmosphere can hold about seven percent more water vapour, leading to more moisture in the air and more extreme weather patterns.

• Environment Victoria reports global warming – and humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels – directly causes this extra water to be created and stored, with impacts also leading to higher temperatures and more extreme weather conditions.

🌊Local risk: In 2022, Maroondah Council started working alongside Melbourne Water to update its flood mapping to show which areas would be affected during a “one-in-100” rainfall event, with the final maps released in March 2024.

The maps would shape the council’s ongoing efforts to improve the efficacy of drainage, providing flood management and prevention advice to landowners and supporting local SES units.

⛈️Storm impact: Periods of short and severe rainfall and flooding leads to the soil becoming oversaturated, loosening the tree roots’ grip. When this happens, trees that were once thought to be strong can crash down on houses or over roads without warning.

• During and following the October 2022 storm events, Maroondah SES crews were out responding to a range of call-outs, including boat rescues, pumping water out of flooded homes, and even balancing that alongside other calls for help, such as a child stuck in a toy machine.

♥️Why volunteer? Now with more than three years with the unit under his belt, Dale Cochrane told the Eastern Melburnian he had been volunteering since he was 22, growing up in a close-knit community in regional New South Wales, following in the footsteps of his father.

• 🗣️“He always had a saying that volunteering was the rent that you paid for being on Earth,” said Cochrane.

Young blood: Novalee Catania has been with the unit for two years, deciding to join after speaking with a local SES crew at a local festival shortly after finishing high school.

• Catania said she hasn’t looked back since, saying the practical skills and personal growth she has received in the role had been “really rewarding”.

• 🗣️“It's satisfying to know that you've done something to help your community,” said Catania.

For more information on how to volunteer with your local SES unit, click here.