By Malcolm Brown
FLOOD warnings were issued yesterday for 14 rivers in New South Wales as downpours continued in NSW and Queensland, isolating small towns and properties and forcing evacuations.
In NSW, flood alerts were issued for areas including Tamworth, Wellington, Bathurst, Dubbo, Hay, and Deniliquin.
In south-western Queensland flooding was reaching serious levels. Bill McCutcheon, a councillor with Western Downs Regional Council, said 100 millimetres of rain had fallen at Chinchilla in the 24 hours to yesterday afternoon.
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The Bureau of Meteorology could not predict how much more rain the region would get. The flooding is now the worst since 1942, with the town of 4000 cut off from the outside world. People have been evacuating houses in low-lying areas and an evacuation centre has been set up. ”There are probably about 30 businesses in town with water in their premises,” Cr McCutcheon said.
Renewed falls in NSW, hitting already saturated land, quickly swelled rivers and creeks. At Eugowra, in the central west, Mandagery Creek was expected to flood 10 businesses and a dozen homes.
In the far north coast, some flooding was expected at Murwillumbah after 24 hours of incessant rain, increasing in intensity yesterday with 45 millimetres falling in six hours. The weather for most of the state is expected to clear during the week, except in the north-east, where showers and thunderstorms are forecast to continue.
In the south of NSW, evacuation warnings were issued for a small number of properties in South Hay. The Murrumbidgee River was expected to peak at 8.5 metres and the levee at its lowest point was nine metres.
In south-western Queensland, rivers and creeks were reaching record floor levels and the rain was continuing. The Condamine River was still rising at midday. At Dalby, road access from Brisbane was cut. At Theodore, in Queensland’s south-west, four people were evacuated from an aged care facility and moved to a hospital at Taroom, on higher ground.
A spokesperson for Emergency Management Queensland said there was also concern for the central highlands, centred on Longreach. A close watch was being kept on the Fitzroy River at Emerald.
Emergency services in both states yesterday issued appeals for people to stay out of floodwaters. Western Downs Regional Council deputy mayor Mick Cosgrove said most roads were now cut and motorists should avoid travel, adding that 20 people in Queensland had ignored such warnings and lost their lives in the past two years.
Source: www.theage.com.au
