Wild weather lashes the Hills as homes and roads are flooded and trees fall
WILD spring storms caused widespread chaos across much of the state, flooding properties, uprooting trees, cutting power and causing tens of millions of dollars damage. SEE THE PICS + VIDEO
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WILD spring storms caused widespread chaos across much of the state yesterday, flooding properties, uprooting trees, cutting power and causing tens of millions of dollars damage.
More than 110mm of rain was dumped at Ashton in the Adelaide Hills in the 24 hours to 9pm yesterday, and 90mm fell at Mount Lofty.
Several rivers broke their banks and roads were turned into creeks, leading to about 600 calls to emergency services for help and leaving hundreds of residents with soggy homes to mop up.
The storms also forced the evacuation of students at Rapid Bay Primary school after it was flooded.
A police statement said all children and teachers from the Rapid Bay Primary School had been safely evacuated after flooding in the Fleurieu Peninsula town.
As the big clean-up gets under way, insurance firms — hit with $4 million payouts in the June and July storms — were bracing for a new wave of multimillion-dollar claims.
Dozens of properties were flooded across the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula, while many homes in suburbs at the base of the hills, including Torrens Park and Waterfall Gully, and in the wider metropolitan area were also inundated by cascading waters.
One Toorak Gardens couple and their cat evacuated their flooded property about 8pm when water up to a metre deep inundated their yard.
Houses in Victoria Avenue, Unley, also flooded, while several of Adelaide’s busiest roads including Anzac Highway, Cross Rd and Goodwood Rd were closed.
Rising rivers cut access roads to some towns, including Rapid Bay on the Fleurieu Peninsula where 32 pupils and six teachers became stranded at the primary school late yesterday.
A police spokesman said there was no danger of the school flooding.
Torrens Park resident Carolyn Schmidt repeatedly said, “Oh my God’’, as she watched water flood into her Fife Ave backyard from Brownhill Creek.
“This happened 11 years ago just before my 40th birthday,’’ she said as the house lost power. “The water has already gone through the shed, which has a lot of equipment.’’
Just down the road, Bruce the puppy was rescued by SES volunteers from the kitchen of an otherwise vacant house as floodwaters rushed in about 4.30pm.
Heavy winds also brought trees and powerlines down over homes and roads.
Andrew and Rebecca Perry of Crafers were getting their children — aged five and seven — ready for school when a tree came crashing down on their house about 9.15am.
“It was a weird sound,” Mrs Perry said. “It was like a crack and then a crash. We thought it may have been that tree that had come down as we’ve had concerns about it in the past. It’s our neighbour’s tree.”
She said the tree had come down on the corner of the house and damage to the roof had left it leaking. “Luckily no one was injured,” she said.
Luke Harding of Encounter Bay woke to find his street, Hope St, almost submerged — and turned into a shallow river as water covered the road. He said: “The whole street flooded and (water) came up to the edge of the driveway. I haven’t seen anything like it.” Luckily, he added, no homes on the street were flooded.
Flood watch-and-act messages were in place for several waterways last night, including Brownhill Creek, which burst its banks in multiple places and flooded several properties.
The State Emergency Service urged all people to stay well clear of floodwaters.
Meanwhile, insurance agencies are bracing for a wave of claims in the wake of the rain.
RAA Insurance senior claims manager Hayley Cain said: “We had a wave of storm activity in June and July with four separate major events and almost constant rain and wind in between the bigger storms.
“Damage was in excess of $4 million with the majority caused by tree and branch damage to homes, property and vehicles, with some flood damage as well. The storms last week and (yesterday) appear to have caused less damage but it is too early to assess the full impact as people are still dealing with the conditions and we would expect claims to continue coming in over the next few days.”
Weather bureau senior forecaster Matt Collopy said showers were expected to continue into today and clear this afternoon. “The rainfall rate will settle down, easing concerns of flooding,” he said.
Showers are expected again on Saturday but Mr Collopy said the bureau was monitoring another system likely to bring heavy rain on Tuesday.