NSW weather: Flood warnings as heavy rain batters Sydney
It’s the megastorm creating chaos across the state — and it isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Record rain has inundated NSW, with 17,000 people evacuated from their homes. VIDEO, PICTURES
NSW
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Heavy rain and wild winds that led to major flooding and evacuations up and down the NSW coast on Saturday are expected to last for days, with the Bureau of Meteorology releasing yet another weather warning late last night.
The warning said the mid-North Coast, Sydney, Illawarra, and parts of Northern Rivers, Hunter, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Tablelands should expect heavy rain and gusty winds, potentially leading to life-threatening flash floods.
“Most parts of the warning area will see the heaviest rain during the next 24 hours, however some places may continue to experience periods of heavy rain through to Monday or Tuesday,” the 11pm notification said.
The Warragamba Dam spilt on Saturday, sending water rushing into the Warragamba and Nepean rivers.
Evacuation centres were set up in nine locations in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions, where up to 400mm of rain has fallen.
About 500 flood rescues have been carried out and the State Emergency Service (SES) has responded to 4000 calls for help.
The deluge will also delay the rollout of the long-awaited coronavirus vaccine in NSW.
But the worst may be yet to come with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warning the rain is forecast to continue until next Thursday or Friday.
“The concerning aspect about the weather conditions we are experiencing is the last time we suffered major floods in NSW, the weather event passed within two or three days,” Ms Berejiklian said at SES Headquarters on Saturday afternoon.
“Unfortunately this will be a deep-seeded, extreme weather event.
“It is unlikely the rain will stop until towards the end of next week, so Thursday or Friday.
“Of course we hope those predictions are wrong but the best predictions we have is this will be a prolonged weather event.”
Emergency services were preparing for a one in five, one in 10 and one in 20 year flood event, she added.
Communities in the Hawkesbury and Nepean areas were on high alert on Saturday afternoon with rivers expected to experience minor flooding.
SES Commissioner Carlene York said residents in low-lying areas should be ready to evacuate if it’s needed.
“There will be some warnings to get ready in those areas,” she said.
“That is to give the community the longest time they have to prepare or go to relative’s houses or make other arrangements in case they are affected by the storm event.”
There are already up to 2000 volunteers on the ground but NSW is currently calling on other states to boost those numbers, particularly with flood rescue technicians.
As the rain moves south, the focus will also be on Goulburn and areas that will flow back into the Warragamba Dam.
Other dams in the Upper Nepean area including the Nepean, Cataract, Cordeaux and Avon dams are expected to spill later on Saturday.
WARRAGAMBA SPILLS OVER
Penrith, North Richmond, Windsor, Putty Rd, Sackville, Lower Portland and Wisemans Ferry are in the firing line over the weekend after Warragamba Dam started spilling at 3pm on Saturday.
Asked whether any water was released from the dam ahead of the forecasted downpour, Ms Berejiklian confirmed there was a release earlier this month.
“I was just briefly advised that some was released earlier this month but I can’t tell you how much of that,” she said.
“We are asking everyone in that catchment to be on high alert.”
Since its construction the dam has spilt more than 50 times, with the most significant being in 1990.
Communities were warned to sandbank properties, move livestock and prepare to leave.
SES volunteers in Penrith helped load up sandbags for local residents.
“This just confirms the caution that I put to Sydney Water over many, many months now that they should not leave the dam at 100 per cent or near 100 per cent,” Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said.
“I think it creates too many risks.”
Water expert at Western Sydney University Ian Wright told his social media followers that increasing population made the spill a bigger threat to communities.
“We are in uncharted territory with such a steeply growing western Sydney population,” he said on Twitter.
“The urban development adds hard, impervious surfaces, and drainage infrastructure. In heavy rain, this can rapidly generate high-velocity flood waters.”
* Additional reporting Angira Bharadwaj, Kaitlyn Hudson-O’Farrell, Ellen Ransley
HOUSE FLOATS AWAY IN TAREE
Dramatic pictures of a house floating away in West Taree have also surfaced.
The home belonged to a local couple, Josh and Sarah, who were supposed to be celebrating their wedding day on Saturday. A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise funds for them to start rebuilding.
Between 300-400mm of rain was observed overnight around Port Macquarie with major flood warnings current and more likely.
Kendall on the Mid North Coast has seen 405mm of rain and 160mm of rain fell in just three hours at Kindie Bridge.
The weather system is currently moving over the central coast and into metropolitan Sydney areas and further down to the Illawarra region.
ADF STANDING BY
The ADF is standing by to help with the “heartbreaking” NSW floods, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced.
In a statement on Saturday, the Prime Minister said he has been in contact with Premier Berejiklian.
“Absolutely heartbreaking scenes across NSW this morning with many homes, towns and businesses inundated with floodwaters, with the Mid North Coast hit particularly hard,” he said.
“I’ve received a briefing from Emergency Management Australia on the situation this morning and also been in contact with Premier Gladys Berejiklian. While no requests have been made at this stage from NSW, the Federal Government stands ready to provide whatever assistance is needed, including from the ADF.”
The PM also gave his “huge thanks” to the SES and asked people to stay out of flood waters.
MINI CYCLONE STRIKES
What has been described as a mini cyclone has also ripped through a number of suburbs in south western Sydney causing damage to dozens of homes and tearing down trees and power lines.
Chester Hill and Sefton bore the brunt of the powerful storm that measured only 100m wide but 3.5km long just before 8.30am.
One family was lucky to escape injury when the roof of their home collapsed and blew all the windows out of the property on Esme Ave in Chester Hill.
Fire and Rescue NSW has 10 trucks in the area and are working with the State Emergency Service to assess damage and clear debris.
Photographs taken by firemen who responded to the scene show the ferocity of what they say was a “mini tornado”.
One picture shows a large trampoline hanging off the roof of a home, while others show massive trees that have brought down power lines.
Ausgrid said power to Sefton has been restored but customers in Chester Hill may have to wait up to five more hours because damage to overhead wires is extensive.
HAWKESBURY ON ALERT
Residents in the Hawkesbury region have been told to not get complacent as the area remains on high alert for severe flooding.
NSW SES Hawkesbury Unit deputy commander David King said residents in the area know all too well how damaging flooding can be.
“At the moment it’s minor flooding and there is potential for it to go up to moderate and into major flooding. The river is staying within its banks and behaving itself for now,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.
“But it’s not all over, we have to be very mindful of what can occur. At the Hawkesbury, we know exactly how damaging flooding can be, we’ve had 200 years of flooding here.”
Mr King said the current focus in the region was on managing household damage.
“We have a number of leaking roofs and the ground is very soft so trees are falling over. We’ve had damaged houses all over the Hawkesbury. Blocked gutters and water over the ceiling and ceilings collapsing. When you have such heavy rain it creates havoc in households,” he said.
Local residents said heavy rain on Thursday had done minor damage near the New Windsor Bridge and trees were seen floating in the Nepean River near the Windsor town centre.
“On Thursday the rain washed away a lot of top soil they have here. I came here in the morning and the river had pushed it all away. So they have come and added the black covers,” local man Peter said.
A major spill in the Warragamba Dam caused concern in the Western Suburbs with Springwood Rd in Yarramundi closing due to the risk of flooding.
MID NORTH COAST
On the Mid North Coast, evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Kempsey, Macksville, Taree and Port Macquarie.
The SES have had to rescue people stuck in their cars on flooded roadways and residents who climbed on their roofs and caravans to escape rising waters.
“There is a significant threat for people on the North Coast as flood levels remain high,” SES spokesman Andrew McCullough said.
“There have been people in life-threatening situations who have been trapped in houses and caravans with their properties inundated.”
Flooding was declared major along the Gloucester River at Gloucester about 8.30pm on Friday, while the Camden Haven River was expected to break the record set in 1978 at Laurieton.
The Pacific Hwy was closed in the region and there were numerous communities isolated by floodwaters.
Mr Elliott said there were 10,000 SES volunteers on standby, but added that he had a gutful of people putting lives at risk by trying to cross floodwaters.
“SES volunteers do their job without any sort of recognition or reward, so I actually think it is the height of arrogance for people to ignore the flood warning,” he said of the 41 flood rescues completed since Thursday.
“You wouldn’t want to walk into a bushfire so why would you go through floodwaters?”
Seawalls along the Northern Beaches (Collaroy) and the Central Coast (Wamberal) remained unaffected on Saturday for now, according to local councils.
Along the Central Coast emergency crews are in the process of removing between 2000 and 20,000 tonnes of sand and earth from lakes including Copacabana, Avoca, Wamberal and The Entrance.
Fears remains that coastal lakes at high tide will flood homes along the waterfront.
Similar works are being carried out on northern beaches lagoons.
Between 9am Friday and 5am Saturday, Delward recorded 373mm of rain, Redoak received 343mm, and Upper Rollands Plains recorded 250mm; including 125.8mm in three hours.
A service station at Telegraph Point was inundated, with locals working together to transfer an injured man from a boat to a car in the middle of the street.
Footage also emerged of cars abandoned in floodwaters and a lawn bowling green at Comboyne that resembled a pool.
HIKERS STRANDED BY RISING RIVERS
Two hikers who found themselves trapped between raging floodwaters in the Blue Mountains National Park on Saturday were whisked to safety after a five hour ordeal.
The women contacted emergency services for help about 2.30pm after police said they reported being trapped between two creeks near Katoomba.
The pair had gone on a bush walk in the natural haven as flood warnings were issued across the state.
A police spokeswoman said the women were eventually rescued and brought to safety about 7pm on Saturday.
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