Teams of Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) personnel have been deployed to Western Australia to support the State’s Cyclone Seroja response and recovery effort.
VICSES said four deployments of personnel, the first of which was made up largely of volunteers, departed Victoria on 13, 18, 20 and 21 April.
“The Victorian taskforce includes largely SES volunteers and incident management teams comprised of personnel from Country Fire Authority (CFA), Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) and Emergency Management Victoria (EMV),” VICSES said.
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said the State Control Centre was supporting the deployment of front-line operators.
“The scale of damage we’re seeing in WA is quite significant, and so we expect a big job ahead for our teams heading over,” Commissioner Crisp said.
“We’re preparing what we can do to help now, with a member already deployed last night to assist with a smooth transition of our members in WA,” he said.
“I want to thank those who have volunteered and their employers who let them go at such short notice.”
Commissioner Crisp said Victoria would do whatever it could to support colleagues and communities affected in WA and work with all relevant Agencies to help with recovery efforts.
Chief Officer, Operations for VICSES, Tim Wiebusch said the Service was proud to be able to assist with both personnel and vehicles and would try to do so for as long as was required.
“The commitment is significant across a wide area of impact with SES members assisting with a range of storm response operations, from roofing to chainsaw work,” Chief Officer Wiebusch said.
