Lismore flood watch: Residents fear for third flood this year
Update: Weather forecasters have cancelled a severe weather warning for the Northern Rivers and reduced the flood watch warning for a number of rivers. Read the rolling coverage.
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Weather forecasters have cancelled a severe weather warning for the Northern Rivers and reduced the flood watch warning for a number of rivers.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the low pressure system that led to heavy rainfall on Thursday night into Friday is weakening but will continue to be monitored closely.
“There remains a risk of severe thunderstorms developing about the coastal fringe from Tweed Heads to Port Macquarie, severe thunderstorm warnings will be issued if necessary,” the warning cancellation said.
Flooding is no longer expected along the Brunswick, Richmond, Coffs Coast, Hastings, Camden Haven, Manning, Gloucester, and Hunter Rivers.
But Ballina residents are reporting higher than usual flooding with some roads covered in water.
A Ballina RSL spokesman said it had been “bucketing down” earlier in the day but the rain had eased off.
“It’s not doing that anymore. It’s overcast,” he said.
“The sky has broken up a bit but it’s still bleak. I mean, it’s going to be on and off.
“It’s certainly not black, it’s grey and overcast.”
Jay Santos, from Baskin-Robbins Ballina, said the town was muggy but the rain had definitely died off.
BOM senior meteorologist Gene Narramore said the low pressure system now off the North East NSW coast was continuing to weaken.
“It’s sitting off the Tweed Head, Gold Coast Area and that’s driving just some scattered showers into the Northern Rivers and Coffs Harbour coast including Ballina as well, “ he said.
“We’re expecting to see just brief heavy showers on and off, sort of persistent rainfall. Some of those showers are spreading inland as well to the range.
“We are not expecting the heavy falls we saw last night like we saw further inland up around the southern border ranges in Queensland where there was 2-300mm.
“Thankfully, not expecting anything like that here, just a wet, showery day with heavy showers and probably only around somewhere from 5 to 15mm with some isolated showers up to 25mm or so.
“The system will hang around and slowly move eastwards offshore.
“We still have some upper instability though, which will produce another round of afternoon showers and maybe an isolated thunderstorm.
“It’s just brief, heavy falls here and there like the last couple of days and finally we should see widespread sunshine returning on Sunday and again on Monday.”
Minor to moderate flood warnings remain for several coastal river catchments in the Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast including the Tweed, Wilsons, Clarence, Bellinger, Nambucca, Macleay, Orara, Upper Macintyre, Macintyre, Gwydir, Peel, Namoi, Castlereagh, Macquarie, Bogan, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, Belubula, Culgoa, Birrie, Bokhara, Narran, Warrego, Paroo, Darling and Upper Murray, Murray and Edward Rivers.
Business owners have been ‘on edge’ since waking Friday morning while farmers have been reeling again as intense rainfall battered Northern NSW.
SES crews responded to cars in flood waters near Coffs Harbour while farmers at Tweed reported cattle being swept into rising rivers overnight.
A wide-scale search in Chinderah, south of Tweed Heads, ended in tragedy with the discovery of what police believe to be the body of a missing swimmer aged in his 20s.
There were flash flooding warnings across the Northern Rivers district Thursday night into Friday morning, as residents feared a third flood.
Diaster Relief Australia volunteer Marina Rowe, who is in the region helping with flood recovery, said it broke her heart to hear a new flood warning.
The Queenslander has been in northern NSW for six weeks.
The Bureau of Meteorology said coastal catchments were wetter than average for this time of year, with Lismore, Tweed Heads, Murwillumbah, Byron Bay, Ballina and Casino initially believed to be in the firing line for flooding.
BOM forecasts reduce the chance of rain over the weekend, suggesting Lismore will get sun on both days — reaching 26C on Saturday and 23C on Sunday.
Farmers surrounding the Rous River on the Tweed River catchment reported livestock swept away as the river broke its bank shortly after midnight, with floodwaters rising 5.5m in just two and a half hours.
Tweed Valley Beef’s Neil Baker said the impact overnight was “huge”.
“There are reports of dozens of cows being washed out from farms all along the river,” he said.
“Farmers are already doing it tough, so this is a devastating situation to be in once again.”
Mr Baker said the cost of feed and cattle pricing had hit local farmers hard.
“My dad is 95 and told me he has never seen a flood like this, at this time of year, in his lifetime,” he said.
“It is devastating to see a deluge like this during our dry season.
“We aren’t catching a break.”
One Tweed local, who asked not to be named, said he had received several calls to report the loss of cows throughout the morning.
“It is a devastating situation that these families and businesses are facing once again.”
Clean and Green Laundry owner Ian Juleff’s shop is ground zero for flooding between two creeks in Lismore.
He said he was stressed and anxious about the prospect of more floods after his Terania St business was wiped out in the February and March floods.
“You’re constantly on edge,” he said.
As the incessant rain continued early Friday, Mr Juleff said his anxiety had been growing as he watched the puddles on his property get bigger and bigger.
“I just don’t want this to be the new normal,” he said.
“I’m sick of being an actor in this; always a part of this flood.
“I just want be someone else in the hills going ‘do you reckon it’s going to flood in Lismore?’ instead of having to put up with the massive amount of stress.
“The last flood particularly when they said you’re right to come back in (after the February flood) and then you go home, you go to bed – ‘phew, we dodged that one’ – and then again your shops close to a metre under water.
“All the work you’ve done is just stuffed – you’re constantly on edge.
“After the last two floods it’s hard to trust any information anymore … do you trust your flood storage anymore? What do you do? Where do you put your stuff?
“It’s hard enough just trying to get your back together after the floods – we’ve still got mud on the walls seven months in.”
NSW SES deputy state controller Dallas Burnes said there was significant to moderate flooding across the whole state on nine river systems.
“The Darling, Macquarie and the Lachlan continue to be an issue,” Chief Superintendent Burnes said.
“We have flood waters in those systems moving downstream.
“We have IMTs (incident management teams) set up in Wagga and Dubbo to manage the impacts of those floodwaters.
“We have pre-positioned assets throughout the western and southern areas of the state to be able to respond and protect our communities.
“In the northern area of the state, the Northern Rivers in particular, we have pre-positioned specialist rescue teams and aviation assets and high-clearance vehicles to enable us to provide the specialist responses needed if our communities get into trouble.”
Significant rainfall totals include Couchy Creek 85mm in an hour to 10.41pm, 155mm in two hours to 12.10am, 222mm in three hours to 12.40am
Chillingham had 74mm in an hour to 11.34pm, 129mm in the two hour to 12.36am and 171mm in the three hours to 12.48am
Numinbah has had 133mm in the three hours to 12.51am.
Nimbin resident Ava Bishop posted a video early Friday depicting a bridge at the end of Thorburn Street where she lives.
She said the water level peaked at 3am and was a few metres over the bridge, which is now littered with branches and other debris.
The video, taken at 5.30am, shows the water level already dropping.
Colin Collier at Dawson Street Auto Centre said he feared he would be the first place to go under in Lismore if the rain continued.
“Every one is a little anxious with the past two floods,” he said.
“We’ve been under three times already since 2020.
“It’s a little bit nerve wracking. Because we’re used to it, we plan for it.
“We watch the New South Wales River Heights and keep a close eye on that; it gives us a good idea when it’s time to evacuate.
“We try and have an evacuation plan in place. We don’t save everything but we save the majority from our workshop.”
Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg said residents were “on edge” after major floods devastated the town across February and March.
“(We’re) very nervous but hoping for the best,” he said.
“Hopefully the weather system doesn’t develop but given the recent history everyone is very much on edge.”
Janette Eagan from Shop Baby on Keen Street in Lismore said she got “a little bit anxious” when moderate flood warnings were issued.
“We do get a little bit worried as to what’s going to happen,” she said.
“Thankfully, it’s not turning out that bad.”
It comes as a body of a man, believed to be in his 20s, was located in the Northern Rivers region on Thursday.
About 1.15pm, emergency services conducted a wide-scale search after receiving reports of a swimmer having difficulty in the water near Barneys Point Bridge at Chinderah.
The body, found about 7pm, is believed to be that of the missing swimmer.
Police confirmed the fatality was not flood-related and a report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.
BOM has also released marine wind warnings for the Byron, Coffs, Macquarie, Hunter, Sydney and Illawarra coasts.
The Coffs SES team has been hard at work over the past 24 hours, with deputy commander of operations Ian Horncastle detailing a number of jobs the local volunteers had helped with.
“We’ve stood up a number of in-water rescue operators in case they’re required for flash flooding, which is predicted,” he said.
“We have three storm crews out in the field, and we’ve had a number of jobs since 8am this morning.
“We did a rescue where a person was trapped in their home in knee-deep water, and another one where a vehicle has left the side of the road into flood waters.”
Mr Horncastle said locals should remain calm through these wet few days.
“Localised flash flooding is always a concern, but it’s only going to be for a short period of time,” he explained.
“It’s only over the next 24 hours that we’re expecting the heavy rainfall to continue, which could bring about that flash flooding.
“We’re urging people to be mindful on the roads, especially in the Nana Glen and Glenreagh areas, as that’s where we had a job this morning.”
Terry McDonnell, from Lismore Kitchen Shop, said this flood threat did not seem “quite as bad” as previous but he was still cautious.
“It’s makes us a little nervous but not too bad, really,” he said.
“It’s not quite as bad as it was before but we don’t know what’s behind it.
“So at this point we are a little nervous but okay.
“Recovery has taken us a long time. We’ve actually shortened the shop.
“So we’ve got less stock than we had before.
“Obviously, our plan going forward would be that we would have to get it out of town rather than just upstairs — that’s the big difference now.”
Flood Warnings are current for the Upper Macintyre, Gwydir, Peel, Namoi, Castlereagh, Macquarie, Bogan, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, Culgoa, Birrie, Bokhara, Narran, Warrego, Paroo, Darling and Upper Murray, Murray and Edward Rivers. Flooding is no longer expected in the Colo River.
The State Emergency Service advises:
* Don’t drive, ride or walk through flood water.
* Keep clear of creeks and storm drains.
* If you are trapped by flash flooding, seek refuge in the highest available place and phone triple-0 if you need rescue.
* Be aware that run-off from rainfall in fire affected areas may behave differently and be more rapid. It may also contain debris such as ash, soil, trees and rocks.
* After bushfires, heavy rain and the loss of foliage can make the ground soft and heavy, leading to a greater chance of landslides.
* Stay vigilant and monitor conditions. Note that the landscape may have changed following bushfires.
* For emergency help in floods and storms, phone your local SES Unit on 132 500.
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