Share

Further floods hit Australia’s New South Wales

New South Wales - Parts of eastern Australia are experiencing their wettest spring since records began. Days, if not weeks, of heavy rain have led to some parts of New South Wales being inundated with their worst flooding in a quarter of a century.

Around 1 000 residents in the rural town of Forbes, located in the central western part of the state, were forced to leave their homes as the flood waters peaked late in the weekend.

More than 100 properties have been affected so far, with local media reporting widespread damage to crops. The rain has now eased, but the flood waters are expected to linger for much of this week.

The State Emergency Services (SES) have already had more than 2 300 calls for help. They said that the Lachlan River, which runs right through the town, peaked on Sunday night at 10.67m.

That height exceeded the 10.65m reached by the river in 1990 when the town was divided into two parts and 132 properties were damaged. Evacuation orders remain in place for large parts of Forbes.

The high school is being used an evacuation centre and is likely to be acting as such for another five days. New South Wales Premier Mike Baird has toured the flood-hit town where he has praised the community and thanked SES volunteers for their efforts.

The next two days are expected to be largely dry with just the possibility of the occasional shower. However, a developing weather system is then forecast to roll through the Great Australian Bight.

Heavy rain and damaging winds are likely to hit South Australia and Victoria by Wednesday. This will set up a wet end to the week for eastern parts of the country.

The flood-hit parts of central western New South Wales could see another 50mm of rain by Saturday morning exacerbating the already dire situation.


 

 

 

 

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
40% - 147 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
60% - 216 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
19.02
-0.6%
Rand - Pound
24.01
-0.5%
Rand - Euro
20.53
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
-0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.6%
Platinum
900.40
+0.4%
Palladium
998.40
-0.3%
Gold
2,210.05
+0.7%
Silver
24.65
+0.0%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,079
+0.6%
All Share
74,269
+0.5%
Resource 10
56,875
+2.2%
Industrial 25
103,593
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,463
-0.4%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE