Council has been working with flood affected community groups to build community resilience in the wake of the October 2022 flood event in Mount Alexander Shire.

Council received funding from the State Government's Emergency Recovery Victoria to establish a Flood Recovery and Resilience Program.

Two Council officers worked with impacted and affected people and communities to ensure community recovery needs were understood, and recovery resources were tailored to meet local needs.

In 2024, Council consultation culminated in community workshops in Castlemaine West, Campbells Creek and Newstead.

Around 100 flood-affected and other residents, emergency management/services, and community organisations designed four projects to help the community help each other in recovery and build resilience against disasters.

1. Piloting Street Coordinators who are locals representing affected streets, that link residents to planning information, provide information about vulnerability to Emergency Management, and help residents get community support in recovery.

2. Establishing Community Emergency Hubs that any member of the community (or a community resilience group) could activate to match needs and offers in, after and between events. Different to an Evacuation Centre, Hubs link Street Coordinators to non-affected residents who can organize and coordinate support, while Emergency Services deal with evacuation, life and property threatening issues.

3. A significant proportion of residents in our flood affected communities are new residents. New resident kits, delivered by Street Coordinators to all and then new households, to ensure everyone has the key information. Kits will include a new fridge magnet with QR code to information and videos in appropriate languages are being created for the Palm workers resident in and around the Castlemaine Caravan Park.

4. The resident’s groups in each town will determine the best method to build awareness of the above community emergency system and activate it through community networks.