If water has reached your wiring
Don't switch anything back on that's been under water, and don't walk through water near a switchboard or power points. Switch off at the main switch only if it's dry and safe to reach. A licensed electrician needs to check the circuits before the power goes back on. For flood or storm help, call the SES on 132 500.
Diamond Creek's risks
Floods
Victoria SES says flooding of the Diamond Creek, Plenty River, Wilsons Creek and Yarra has historically caused problems in Nillumbik, usually after 12 or more hours of moderate to heavy rain following a long wet spell.
Bushfire
Most of Nillumbik is a Bushfire Prone Area, though some urban parts of Diamond Creek aren't mapped that way. Fires hit the district from 1894 to 1969, and the community centre was an evacuation point in February 2009.
Fire safety on the network
AusNet fitted its Eltham zone substation with REFCLs, bushfire protection devices, by November 2023, and its planning report once proposed a REFCL-protected Diamond Creek zone substation to take feeders off Eltham.
Homes
At the 2021 Census, 94.3% of homes were separate houses, 51.6% had four or more bedrooms and only 10.0% were rented.
Jobs after fire and flood seasons
After a flood: power points, switchboards and appliances that got wet need testing, and some will need replacing.
Before fire season: land in a Bushfire Prone Area may also be under a Bushfire Management Overlay, and a VicPlan property report will tell you. If a pump, sprinkler or shed is part of your fire plan, its power should be on its own protected circuit, done by a licensed electrician.
Older boards: a 1970s house may have an early circuit breaker board with one safety switch, or none. Bigger homes add load over time, so get the board checked before solar or a car charger.
What we'd do in Diamond Creek
Get every circuit that runs outside, to a pump, a shed or the garden, onto a safety switch, and keep it separate from the house circuits. In fire or flood weather, that's what lets the house stay powered while the wet or damaged part stays off.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.