RHIANA WHITSON, REPORTER: On a cold winter’s night in inner-city Melbourne, residents gather at a community hall looking for answers.
REPORTER: Victoria is facing an escalating flood crisis and even in the centre of Melbourne where hundreds of residents were evacuated after the Maribyrnong River flooded city streets. RHIANA WHITSON: Melbourne Water is updating its flood modelling for the first time in two decades following criticism by a flood review panel the authority was using out of date modelling.
RHIANA WHITSON: The Kensington Banks estate was developed in the late '90s on a former cattle yards, after approval from the state government and Melbourne City Council. So I think what we're seeing in, for example, places like Kensington, we're just going to see that over and over and over again. RHIANA WHITSON: Here in Kensington Banks real estate agents say property values could fall by 20 per cent because of the new modelling. Insurance premiums will likely rise, and experts say banks are increasingly wary of writing new loans for homes in flood prone areas.
RHIANA WHITSON: Roger Hadgraft is a water engineer and resident of Kensington Banks. He bought his home in 2012. RHIANA WHITSON: The flood modelling for the rest of Melbourne Water’s catchment areas is being updated by 2026.NERINA DI LORENZO: Well, not a single infrastructure solution at this point. Now that we've got this new data, we're able to work on, for a whole catchment view, what are the possible mitigations and are they feasible? So we're kicking that work off now, and we're working on that.