Young and old were all hands on deck in Wedderburn this weekend preparing for rain and potential flooding on January 7 and 8.
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Noel Theodore from the Wedderburn SES said it had been a "real community effort" and he was expecting a mad rush from people as they watched the wet weather roll in.
Many of those lending a hand have already been hit by rain on Christmas Day and then on January 2.
People surprised by wet Christmas preparing for more
Local Adam Postle who was filling up sandbags with friend Alex Kelly said the wet Christmas was a bit unexpected.
"Everybody got caught by surprise on Christmas so it pays to be prepared," he said.
He said locals had been expecting 10-20mm and some had received 60mm or more.
Donna Hillis is the wife of the local CFA captain, and she brought the whole family to get involved to help the community.
Nine-year-old Mia, 13-year-old Trai and 14-year-old Eli were on hand bagging the sand for homes to use around the small central Victorian town.
Christmas heartache for Wedderburn before 'crazy' January 2
Another youngster 15-year-old Tyson Blair, who Ms Hillis called a "great upstander in the local community" also pitched in, dropping off sandbags to locals with the CFA set to also deliver bags to low-lying areas.
"Hopefully we've done all this for nothing," Ms Hillis said.
The local mum said it had been "heartache" on Christmas and she recalled crying seeing all the damage and people being evacuated.
"I'm a real Christmas person and we had 24 hours with no power, but at least we weren't flooded," she said.
Dakota Martin, 14, who was packing sandbags with her father Daniel and friend 14-year-old Jake Ward, said her family just managed to get into town on January 2 to get fuel for the generator before it "got crazy".
Family property hit from three directions as clean-up remains
One of the local families grateful for the sandbags were Jenny, Richard and Heidi Lancaster who have tried to block the water pathways, after they were hit from three directions in the Christmas Day and January 2 storms.
They're hoping to use the sandbags to divert the water through their garden to avoid flooding inside their entrance.
They've already cleaned up once but flooded paddocks, swarms of mozzies and branches clumped up by fences remain.
Mr Lancaster said nearby drains are blocked by branches and has complained to council to hopefully clear the muck out to allow for better flow of water.
Ms Lancaster said a heavy diesel tank that typically requires three people to carry it had even been washed into a nearby tree while one of her gardening areas was "a mess".
Homes flooded twice by storms, preparing for more wet weather
She said it was "so powerful" she didn't think anything would have stopped it.
The family said they still felt like the lucky ones.
Another local who did not wish to be named said his home had flooded twice since Christmas including in his fridge causing damage to his electric recliner and his mower and spreading residue throughout his home.
"I try to do what I can, but it's pretty heartbreaking," he told the Bendigo Advertiser.
"I'm still waiting for insurance assessors to get here so I can't do anything yet."
A new couple to town, who also didn't want to be named, said it was the "calm before the storm".
They had blowers already in action trying to dry the house from the last two deluges which saw some of their possessions floating into their next door neighbours' yard.
Their carpet is not salvagable from the recent damage so they have resorted to sandbagging to prevent any further damage.
"Things can be replaced, as long as everyone's safe," they said.
Lucy Williams
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
