Heavy rain in Adelaide causes courts to flood, traffic chaos

RECORD-BREAKING rain caused chaos across the state on Tuesday, as the CBD’s dilapidated courthouse also surrendered to the elements, with judges’ chambers flooding.

RECORD-BREAKING rain caused chaos across the state on Tuesday, as the CBD’s dilapidated, archaic courthouse also surrendered to the elements, with judges’ chambers flooding.

Bucketing rain rolled in from the city’s northeast on Tuesday morning after the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Stan moved across the state overnight.

The wet weather broke several records across the state, with Coffin Bay experiencing its wettest day on record, with 75.8mm of rain.

The Nullarbor had its wettest day since February 2011, with 62.4mm of rain, while at the Port Lincoln aerodrome, 49.6mm of rain fell to make it the wettest February day on record, and the wettest day at the site since January 1995.

In Adelaide, the weather caused traffic chaos throughout the morning.

Heavy rain at Henley Beach.

A five-car smash near the Heysen Tunnels on the South Eastern Freeway caused delays heading into the city after the cars “tail-ended’’ on the down track about 7.20am.

Fortunately nobody was hurt but citybound traffic was restricted to one lane as the wreckage was cleared.

Meantime, a rusted “rain head” box on the roof gutter of the old Supreme Court, on the corner of King William St and Gouger St, gave way to the rain about 7am.

It has a hole in its base, visible from the street, from which water cascaded onto an air conditioning unit and into the building.

Water seeped into — and then through — a plaster ceiling in the heritage-listed building, destroying light fixtures and raising fears of collapse.

Court staff used a service elevator to bring wheelie bins into the chambers of two judges, catch the water and then carry it back outside to be dumped.

A rusted gutter on the roof of the old Supreme Court gave way in the rain, causing flooding.

The Advertiser understands the MFS and roofing contractors were called in to assist, and helped move furniture and records out of the way before covering the chambers with tarps.

It is further understood the building’s insurance policy requires the courts to pay the first $10,000 of any repairs required.

The Advertiser also understands one of the two chambers has been deemed “unusable”.

State Courts administrator Julie-Anne Burgess said the leak followed repairs undertaken, on Saturday morning, to joins in a box gutter on the same corner.

She said one judge and three Associates had been relocated from the building because of the flooding.

“Heavy and sustained rains early this morning again caused water to enter the building and roof plumbers were again called to investigate,” she said.

“Investigations into the cause of the leak and remedial work to the chambers continue.

“At this stage there is no known structural damage to the building.”

The poor state of the Supreme Court building has been a sore point for the legal system for more than two decades.

Many of its walls are cracked, its facades are crumbling, its elevators malfunction and, at one stage, a staircase had rubber matting up against a wall in case a person tripped and fell.

While confined to a wheelchair due to injury in 2011, then-Chief Justice John Doyle could not get into his own chambers as the building lacked disability access.

In September 2013 the State Government announced a $500 million revamp of the courts precinct, only for the project to be terminated in March last year.

Deputy Opposition Leader Vickie Chapman said the government was “clearly not interested in fixing its problems”.

She said that, while no hearings had been called off, judges and staff had been unable to complete essential pre-trial work and the writing of judgments.

“This just highlights the level of decay of our courts, which are an embarrassment and the worst superior courts in the nation,” she said.

“Clearly the previous repairs (on Friday) were a Band-Aid measure.

“Heaven help us, and the justice system, when we get to winter... the whole of the court system could come to a standstill unless the government immediately remedies this.”

Attroney-General John Rau said he maintained his position that the state of the courts was “unacceptable” and that an upgrade or replacement of the building was “unavoidable”.

“Whether funds are available in this budget cycle is yet to be determined,” he said.

Thar she blows: leak in #Adelaide Supreme Court springs up again. @theTiser pic.twitter.com/1tBYdmejyG

— Sean Fewster (@SeanFewster) February 2, 2016

The SES this morning had fielded at least 40 calls across the state for flooding, collapsed roofs and downed trees.

Steve Hough, managing director of Print Graphics at Morphett St in the city, said he was surprised when part of the ceiling in the staff kitchen collapsed about 6.45am.

“I made my first cup of coffee and when I came back for me second cup, the ceiling fell in,’’ he said.

“We had some leaks in the ceiling during that big downpour (last) Friday and we had some repairs down yesterday, in fact.’’

Meanwhile tram services from West Terrace to Entertainment Centre were cancelled, as were several train services on the Gawler line to the city.

Marlborough Street in Henley Beach was flooded this morning (Picture: Dean Martin)

Across the state, some of the worst flooding was seen at Port Lincoln where 46mm of rain fell overnight. Volunteers laid sandbags at retail stores along Liverpool St as water rose in the streets of the Eyre Peninsula city.

Victor Harbor was also inundated, with roads flooded and a ceiling collapsed at Victor Central Shopping Centre after 18mm of rain.

Mrs Jill Anderson of Follett Street Port Lincoln outside her flooded home. Picture: Ivon Perrin