McCrae landslides: Evacuated residents foot bill for emergency housing as council receives $250k support package

The house that slipped down the hill at McRae. Tuesday, January 14. 2024. Picture: David Crosling

Evacuated McCrae residents have been told it could be months until they’re allowed back to their properties after a landslide in the suburb last week.

Locals affected by the disaster on January 14 in the Mornington Peninsula suburb, including those who were evacuated from their homes, gathered on Wednesday morning for a closed meeting at the Dromana Community Hall.

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Media were not allowed to attend the session, but it is understood residents received little indication of how long they would be impacted for — save for a bleak suggestion that it might be months before they know if they can return to their homes.

One McCrae local who has lived in the area since the 1960s, but was barred from entering the meeting despite living on one of the streets where homes have been evacuated — said he was disappointed he had been unable to attend.

SES Sorrento Unit volunteers were some of the first to respond to the incident at the McCrae landslide. Picture: SES Vic

“The communication with the local community has not been that good,” he said

“There doesn’t seem to be any co-ordinating body associated with what’s going on.”

The exclusion zone remains the same as it was on Friday with 19 homes evacuated.

There are currently three geotechnical reports being conducted at the site managed by the Victorian State Emergency Service, South East Water and the Mornington Peninsula Shire.

Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Anthony Marsh said it could take weeks to months before residents would be allowed to return to their homes as the site had yet to be deemed safe.

He added that the geotechnical reports would take “several weeks”.

Roads were closed and residents not allowed to return to their homes. Picture: SES Vic

Mr Marsh said the Victorian government had allocated $250,000 to the local council to help pay for the “unforeseen costs”.

He confirmed that South East Water had agreed to waive fees for those impacted by the landslide and the council was waiving their rates for the time that residents remained evacuated.

However, residents are still fronting the costs of short-term accommodation at the moment.

Victorian Liberal Party deputy leader Sam Groth said he and party leader Brad Battin had written to Premier Jacinta Allan asking for support for the residents and for her and her ministers to come to McCrae and take some authority over the site.

Victorian deputy opposition leader Sam Groth is calling on the Labor Government to do more to support the people impacted by the McCrae landslide. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

“We’ve got 19 properties at least evacuated currently. We also have other properties on the fringe who don’t know whether they’re able to inhabit their homes safely,” Mr Groth said.

“We want to see these residents not only with a place to live now, but the ability to get back into their homes as quickly as possible.

“We know this site has had a number of slips dating back to November 2022.”

He added that affected residents just wanted some clarity from the council around what was being undertaken in the area.

“There’s some issues around security,” he said.

“Those homes have obviously been evacuated for a period of time now. They’re sitting there empty with their belongings.

“They’ve got all of their life inside these homes.”

As recently as 2022, a McCrae home was evacuated after a smaller landslip caused soil to slide down a hill and crash into another abode.

There has been no suggestion that the most recent landslide was linked to those that occurred in 2022.

While there are 19 homes that have been evacuated, about 60 homes along the top and bottom of the cliff running from McCrae to Dromana could be in limbo following the landslide, with experts predicting it could take years to figure out and implement a long-term solution.

See the full list of homes impacted by the landslide.

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sarah.petty@news.com.au

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