COLLECTING CRITICAL DATA TO STRENGTHEN FUTURE FLOOD MODELLING AFTER FLASH FLOOD EVENT

Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CMA) teams have been on the ground across the region following the 15 January 2026 flash flood event, gathering vital information to help improve future flood modelling and build a clearer understanding of how the waterways responded during the severe flash flooding.

The event impacted several coastal catchments including Kennett River, Wye River, Separation Creek, Cumberland River, St Georges River and the Erskine River; water levels rose suddenly causing significant erosion and property damage.

Collecting the Story the Water Leaves Behind

In the days following the floods, Corangamite CMA staff began surveying the landscape to document exactly how high and how far the floodwaters travelled.

This included detailed mapping of:

• Debris lines – the natural trails of sticks, leaves and twigs deposited at the peak of the flood
• Flood marks on infrastructure – clear waterlines left on bridges, buildings, culverts and other structures

These physical indicators provide reliable “real world” evidence of flood extent and are essential for validating and improving computer-based flood models.

Why This Data Matters

Flood modelling forms the technical foundation of how agencies understand flood behaviour in a catchment. Accurate models help authorities:

• identify areas at higher risk
• guide safer development and land‑use planning
• improve emergency planning and response
• strengthen community preparedness

By incorporating locally collected evidence from this event, future models can better reflect real flood behaviour—particularly in steep coastal catchments where conditions can change rapidly.

Turning Field Evidence into Future Preparedness

All data collected by Corangamite CMA will now feed into updated modelling for each affected catchment.

These models are used by councils, emergency services and state agencies to make long‑term decisions about infrastructure, warnings and land management.

Every flood tells a story and having access to physical flood evidence soon after an event is critical.

Supporting Communities Through Recovery

The CMA encourages residents seeking support or updates on recovery efforts to access the latest information provided by local councils:

• Surf Coast Shire – Great Ocean Road Flood Recovery
• Colac Otway Shire – Emergency Events January 2026
• Colac Otway Shire – Flood Event FAQs

These resources offer guidance on clean‑up, safety, mental health services, and local recovery arrangements.

A Collaborative Effort

Corangamite CMA continues to work closely with partner agencies, councils and emergency services to ensure all available information is shared and used to improve resilience across the region. The organisation emphasised that collecting timely flood data is an important part of that collective effort.