HAMILTON has been named Victoria’s 10th highest hotspot for storm damage in the past financial year and with storm season upon us, the Bureau of Meteorology is warning Australians they’re in for severe weather this summer.

Summer is typically associated with bushfires, but with hot weather can come thunderstorms and flooding - national insurer AAMI and the Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) have revealed the state’s worst storm-damaged hotspots this past financial year.

AAMI analysed more than 14,887 weather-related home insurance claims across Victoria from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, to reveal the hardest hit suburbs.

According to VICSES data, over the past financial year (ending 22/23), VICSES volunteers received a total of 32,985 requests for assistance across the state.

VICSES operations chief officer, Tim Wiebusch, said looking at this data, flooding incidents for 2022 - 2023 increased by more than 130 per cent compared to the last financial year.

He added it was important for communities remain vigilant and prepared for all emergencies, particularly as the state moved into summer.

“Don’t wait for the emergency to have a plan,” he said.

“It is vital to know your risk and to have a robust plan in place for storms, flash flooding along with potential bushfires.

“The severe flood impacts that devastated many parts of Victoria last year in October, was one of the most significant flood events in our state’s history.

“As always, our members stepped up for their communities providing much-needed emergency assistance 24 hours a day, and as we move into the next high-risk season, our SES volunteers will continue to support their communities.”

AAMI home claims executive general manager, Alli Smith, said AAMI’s home claims data showed that rain, which was followed by hail and flood were the most common causes of damage to homes across Victoria.

“As a result of these weather events our customers experienced everything from water ingress, damaged roofs and flooding, and in some cases were displaced from their homes,” she said.

“Storms are a normal part of everyday life in Victoria, which means damage from them can catch people off guard - Aussies tend to have a ‘laissez faire’ attitude when it comes to preparing for summer storms.

“However, what Victorians don’t realise is that storms can be a serious event and don’t need to last long to cause severe damage to their homes.

“Despite the heightened risk of bushfires from El Niño we need to also be ready and prepare for wild weather brought by thunderstorms, flash flooding, damaging wind, and hail.”

Hamilton SES unit controller, Tim Fry, said the Hamilton unit nearly doubled their requests for assistance in the 22-23 financial year, with October last year being their busiest.

“This included nearly 70 RFA’s (requests for assistance) related to the flash flooding event on October 21 to 23 in 2022,” he said.

“The majority of our callouts remain responding to trees down over roads which cause significant traffic hazards.

“We have been fortunate during larger scale events to call on assistance from neighbouring units as well as partner agencies to assist with response, however the vast majority of RFA’s were responded to solely by Hamilton Unit volunteers.

“As a unit we have been increasing our training and capacity for larger scale events including additional training for the divisional command point which the unit houses and can be activated in large scale events to manage events across multiple units.

“VISSES’s key advice points to help reduce RFAs include trimming trees and branches that could fall onto your home or car, cleaning your gutters, downpipes and drains of leaves and debris, and driving to the conditions.”

The Hamilton Unit is currently looking for additional members for both operational response and incident management - to find out more about becoming a volunteer or to express an interest in joining visit ses.vic.gov.au/join-us