Griffith SES has fielded over 100 calls in the last eight days, as Griffith recovers from and handles recent storms and water damage. With a lack of available volunteers, the crew is struggling to stay on top of the calls

Erin Sinclair, a Griffith SES volunteer, said that the vast majority of calls were related to roofs and blocked gutters causing problems.

"They've ranged from a few small branches to whole trees coming down on houses, sheds and cars. We've had a few ceilings collapse under water weight," she explained.

"A big problem we have is people not cleaning out gutters - the gutters can't effectively carry the water off. It backs up and comes into the house, we had quite a lot of those jobs last week. That was the main damage."

The storm warning for this evening includes the possibility of hail, strong winds and lightning, potentially leaving the SES's volunteers even more tired than the last week. Mrs Sinclair added that they were still desperate for more volunteers or spontaneous help.

"Over the eight days, we didn't have a large unit of people who are available so it was a lot of pressure on those who could come. We're working as much as possible with what we have ... Most of us have full-time jobs and families, and storm damage of our own," she said.

"We did get a really good response online over the last two weeks of people looking to join, so we're hoping those people follow through and join up. We also have spontaneous volunteers, so that we can put out a call for people to just come in and fill some sandbags. That's only a few hours."

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Mrs Sinclair said that there were three key steps for people to take in order to ease the pressure on the service, along with following the unit's facebook page and staying up to date on weather alerts.

"If you're able to clean out your gutters yourself safely, please do. If you can't do it safely, get a contractor or a handyman or whoever ... if you're a homeowner or even if you're renting, get your landlord to come and inspect the roof. Make sure it's in good condition, no cracked tiles. A crack is a potential leak."

"Make sure you're taking care of trees in your yard. If it's got a lot of dead branches, get someone in. Clean it up, make sure it's not going to pose a risk if there's high winds."

"Finally, tie down your trampolines. We haven't seen too many flying about but it's always good to have a reminder."

If you require assistance during a flood or storm, please contact the SES at 132 500. If life is in danger, please immediately contact emergency services at 000.

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