Mopping up again- Yarra Ranges Council staff clear the drain that caused flooding to the Home Hotel in Launching Place. 59960

By Mara Pattison -Sowden
THE Yarra Valley is once again mopping up after a weekend of severe flooding and the Yarra Ranges Council and emergency service phone lines were running hot with calls for help.
The worst incident recorded was that of a Warburton couple who almost lost their lives after a tree fell on their house, severing it in two.
Among the other major incidents, it was reported that the Launching Place Home Hotel was flooded with several feet of water and over the weekend, the Upper Yarra dam had 74mm of rainfall, the Maroondah dam recorded 94mm and the O’Shannassy catchment flowed with more than 100mm.
The Melba Highway was still closed in several areas around Yering and Yarra Glen yesterday, Monday 7 February, while the Warburton Highway, Maroondah Highway and Healesville Kooweerup Road were flooded in parts on Saturday.
The Warburton couple were sitting in their lounge room on Saturday night, 5 February, when a massive gum tree fell on their house, trapping them inside.
Upper Yarra SES rescuer Russell Wulf said the couple, a 42-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man were sitting on their couch watching TV, when the man heard a tree falling and grabbed his partner, threw her on the floor and dived over her.
“The tree came across and landed on the whole length of the couch where they were sitting. They are the luckiest people on the face of this earth,” he said.
Mr Wulf said the couple was able to walk out after the SES cleared a path, and they were taken to Maroondah Hospital with minor injuries.
That was one of more than 30 call outs the Upper Yarra SES responded to over the weekend.
The 32 members worked non-stop on calls for floods, building damage, fallen trees and sandbagging.
Launching Place Home Hotel was flooded for a second time in as many months. Councillor Chris Templer was at the hotel on Sunday helping with the clean up.
He said more than two feet of water flooded into the hotel, but the owners have had the support of their staff and community members.
Yarra Ranges Council had more than 500 calls for assistance over the weekend and another 500 calls on Monday morning, relating to blocked drains, water run-off, damaged road surfaces and a few minor landslips.
Council spokesman James Martin said Badgers Creek and Healesville were the hardest hit in the valley, and the clean-up will continue for some time due to the extensive nature of the flooding.