VIDEO: Trentham & Blackwood still picking up the pieces, a year after their first violent storm

With hundreds of large trees blocking roads and cutting powerlines on 10 June 2021, Trentham and Blackwood were just two towns left without power for more than a week - and very quickly, no mobile signal. Added to these problems Trentham was faced with a failed water supply.

Locals from Blackwood resorted to a whiteboard outside the post office to announce community meetings - while in Trentham, megaphones on police cars were getting the word out as they waited four days to get back on line.

"What use is an emergency SMS system, when your mobile phone doesn't work?" Blackwood Post Office Coffee Shop operator Carol Guthrie said.

"We need to be sure that in any disaster our communications and technology still work - especially if you had a heart attack in the middle of all that damage. What are Telstra and the other networks doing?"

At Trentham IGA an electrician worked through the night to get a generator running in time for trade, three days after the disaster.

With the lights on, the supermarket then invited locals to come in and charge their phones.

"The way people came together to help other was just amazing," Manager Pam Stevenson said.

"The town was totally blocked off. There was no communication possible at all. We couldn't get onto any staff - and they couldn't get onto us.

"Eventually one staffmember was able to charge her phone with a camping battery, and that really helped.

"People didn't know if their loved ones were okay - and in some cases, people couldn't leave their homes because their driveways were blocked by fallen trees."

Ms Stevenson said even the local CFA struggled with communication in the aftermath.

Moorabool Mayor Tom Sullivan said in an emergency, I.T. and communications already came under pressure:

"We need to make sure there's better coverage in the event of a catastrophe and that people aren't left in limbo.

"We need to make sure we learn from these lessons of the 2021 storms - and Black Saturday in 2009 as well because no one knew what was going on in Marysville.

"As bad as those storms were, the 'not knowing' is not good either. I think it's fair enough to want to check on loved ones. You want to know how they are. It just causes even more anxiety.

"We need more certainty about communications because this kind of situation will happen again."

The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions has been contacted for comment.

Blackwood and Trentham are not connected to piped natural gas - leaving locals with limited heating or cooking options. Both towns also have issues with analogue radio signals.

When Pam Stevenson knocked off work that night, she reckons she was lucky to make it home.

"There were trees swaying and falling everywhere," the Trentham IGA manager said.

"I remember it was a Wednesday night - and it was Saturday by the time we got the power on."

When she realised the town's water supply running low - and also unsafe to drink - she knew there'd be a run on bottled water.

"We were due to have a delivery - so I rang the warehouse in Laverton and asked them to send extra water.

"They were amazing. They sent a huge amount of water - and it was all donated."

IGA then passed on the freebies to customers - and junior staff were sent out to give out more to people unable to get out of their homes

"It was absolutely amazing watching the community come together in those first few days," Ms Stevenson said.

"Those first few days were huge.

"There was all the cleaning up and taking photos for insurance companies.

"It was just a really good time to work, regardless of what was happening

"The CFA pitched in. Everyone pitched in. It was very much a community effort.

"It was such a widespread storm, affecting so many people.

"The guys spent all night getting the generator going and when we had electricity in the supermarket, we allowed people to come in and charge their phones."

While the cash registers still worked, EFTPOS machines did not - and the supermarket had to resort to written I.O.U.s.

"With no power for the fridges, we also had to clean out a lot of stock on Friday and Saturday. I believe it was around $40,000 worth.

"Staff worked very hard. They also got wet and dirty, knowing that with no water at home they wouldn't get a shower."

Ms Stevenson said she believed the supermarket had generated an enormous amount of goodwill in Trentham - with people still approaching her, saying they will never forget what the business did for them.

During the crisis her normal half-hour drive to work turned into a trek of more than three hours - with detours via Bacchus Marsh, Bullengarook, Gisborne and Woodend.

Even with the road to Woodend opening, she said many Trentham locals were unsure about driving anywhere, given the risk of falling branches.

One year on, logs and rotting limbs are still scattered through the forest.

"People say it was like a war-zone. There were trees and powerlines over roads everywhere.

"In the year 2021 I think no one expects to lose their communications entirely.

"The local CFA volunteers couldn't even get help from other brigades. They were on their their own for at least 24 hours.

"That was the biggest thing. The loss of communication, power and water."

When we last caught up with Carol Guthrie at the Blackwood Post Office Coffee Shop, she was acting as an unofficial communication centre for the cut-off community.

Messages about daily meetings, who needed help - and who could help you out - all came through the store.

"People just did what they could," she said.

"In fact, it just brought the community together."

She said local children were still traumatised - and some as young as two were fearful of bad weather, even a year after the disaster.

"The children were frightened. Everyone was frightened," she said.

"You have no idea what it's like to hear cracking outside all night - and wondering if its going to hit you next."

There is a special place in Blackwood's heart for Margaret McCarthy - a woman with extensive Red Cross experience.

"She was just wonderful. She knew what needed to happen after the town was cut off," Ms Guthrie said.

"A lot of emergency services had difficulty getting into Blackwood - and some people couldn't even get out of their driveways.

"We had to get lists of all the potentially vulnerable people in town and check on them.

"People were coming into our shop shell-shocked. Going anywhere was like an obstacle course.

"People would also ask me if they knew anyone with a chainsaw - and we'd be able to connect them with someone who could help."

Ms Guthrie said the storm damage west of Melbourne received nowhere near the amount of state or national news coverage as the Dandenongs.

"The other thing people need to remember is that there wasn't just one big storm in Blackwood last year. There were actually three. I think the first (June 10) was the worst for Blackwood. Trentham was hardest hit by the others."

It was five days before most of Blackwood had power. Outlying areas waited a full week.

"There was a restaurant in Blackwood with no way of refrigerating food, so we ended up having a giant street party to use it all up. The pub did the same - and then some local musicians turned up.

"We all needed to get rid of food - and we all needed to do something to lift people's spirits. It also became a great way of checking in on each other."

Ms Guthrie is still keeping busy - and now plans to renovate the popular store.

Moorabool Council will hold a 'One Year On' catch-up from 11am on Sunday June 19 at the Blackwoioid Recreation Reserve to acknowledge the impact on more than 1000 properties across the shire.

Mayor Tom Sullivan will launch a book of community stories and images.

Echidnas down mineshafts... wallabies stuck in disused dams...

Manfred Zabinskas has gained fame after years of daring animal rescues.

Now it's time to care for the carer.

The East Trentham Wildlife Shelter he and partner Helen Round operate was ravaged after three storms in 2021.

The first was on June 10.

The next morning he was surveying the damage when a cracking sound previewed yet another giant dropping to the ground on the isolated property.

He caught the whole thing on camera.

"At the time I had been doing some work (as Five Freedoms Animal Rescue) in Melbourne's south east. It was for an earthworks company called Accurate Group," Mr Zabinskas said.

"They were amazing.

"They came out the day after the storm and helped to clear some of the trees that had fallen.

"That donation of time and equipment would have been worth around $20,000.

"They brought out a 35 tonne excavator. It's one of their biggest pieces of equipment."

No animals in their care were lost in the June disaster, but the couple did have around 20 joeys sheltering in their lounge during thew worst of the storm.

A reptile enclosure was also badly damaged - and multiple trees fell over their driveway and local road, trapping them at home.

"It was tree after tree falling over - like matchsticks," Ms Round said.

The next threat was weakened limbs in soggy ground - causing more trees to fall over the following months.

On top of that, they live with the risk of now-slanting trees looming over kangaroo enclosures, sheds and the equipment that allows them to live off the grid.

"It's getting to the point where we have run out of money to make trees safe on this property," Mr Zabinskas said

"We have trees earmaked to go, but we have to raise money - and get them cut - before they fall on sheds or animals.

"As we raise funds (for tree lopping), we than have to pick the tree that is the most dangerous at the time.

"The price of making those trees safe is also taking away from our vet and specialist animal feed budgets."

Mr Zabinskas said ideally the shelter needs $20,000 to make the area around their kangaroo enclosures safe.

To donate or buy a fundraising gift certificate, go to FiveFreedoms.com.au

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