Warwick farmers brace for worst ahead of potential third consecutive La Niña season

‘Just devastation’: Warwick producers say they have been forced to make drastic changes to save their livelihoods after years of catastrophic flooding, with experts now predicting a third consecutive La Niña season is on the way.

Farmers still recovering from the significant flooding events that have devastated much of the Warwick area in the past 12 months say they are bracing for the worst amid predictions of yet another wet summer on the way.

The Bureau of Meteorology earlier this month raised its La Niña alert status, indicating a 70 per cent chance that the weather system could form for the third consecutive season, bringing with it an increased possibility of severe storms and heavy rainfall throughout the spring and summer months.

The previous two wet seasons have seen Warwick and the wider Southern Downs repeatedly battered by huge rains and flooding, with the most recent weather event in May seeing the Condamine River peak at a height just below the levels recorded in the catastrophic 2011 floods.

Junabee cattle farmer Lindsay Goodwin has seen first-hand the damage left behind by such severe weather, saying he was forced to switch from growing lucerne after flooding and soil erosion made it nearly impossible to keep producing the crop.

“I thought if I didn’t do something about my farm, my kids won’t have a farm for me to leave them with,” he said.

“All the soil would have been gone, so I’ve stopped farming and now it’s just my cattle.

“I kept on thinking, ‘If I keep farming, I won’t have a farm’.”

Mr Goodwin said changing tack had not made restoring his property to its former glory significantly easier, as parts of his farm were likely permanently damaged, but he was determined to stay positive.

“It was just devastation. To get the farm back to how it was, it’ll be a big job and take another few months, probably,” he said.

“I’m lucky a group called BlazeAid have come to town – they’re a group of volunteers. I went to the meeting and they’ve been out at my place helping me fence (and) doing a good job, otherwise I wouldn’t have got it done.

“I’ve changed all my fencing, so I don’t have any wooden posts and no wire.

“I’ve changed all the posts so when the flood comes, I hope it just takes the electric tape off and leaves all the posts there, so I don’t have to repost them again.”

BOM meteorologist Felim Hanniffy said another La Niña system could prove dangerous for regions such as Warwick that have already received significant rainfall this year.

“We’re hot on the heels of the La Niña just gone and the conditions remain pretty saturated for much of the state, (which) is going to mean there’s little tolerance for increased rainfall, meaning significant risk of flooding,” he said.

“During times of active weather systems and potential wet periods being flagged, even minor to moderate amount of rainfall could produce significant river rise and flooding due to the level of saturation.

“The best course of action for residents to prepare for a possible La Niña event is to be extra vigilant, stay up to date regarding any warning or advice from the council and the Bureau regarding forecasts.”