Heavy rains across NSW bring widespread flood warnings | New South Wales

Rivers in New South Wales are expected to be flooded in the coming days after a wet week in which several areas received more rain than they would normally receive throughout November.

“The catchment areas are really saturated, the dams are full. That makes the rivers really sensitive, ”said Bureau of Meteorology chief meteorologist Jane Golding.

The SES has responded to more than 300 requests for help in the past 24 hours, most of them from the Midwest, including Orange, Bathurst and Young.

Nine flood rescue operations were carried out overnight and through Friday morning, mainly from cars in flood.

“A lot of people have decided to take to the streets after months of lockdown. We ask you to be extra vigilant, we don’t need you to put yourself in danger, and we don’t need you to put rescuers at risk, ”said SES Deputy Commissioner Daniel Austin.

The service is observing the communities in the Lachlan catchment areas as it has been for several months “very closely”.

“This catchment area in particular has been very soaked for a long time,” said Austin.

“In some places the flood will recede and the soil can dry out a little. We know that the subsoil is still saturated, so it doesn’t take long for more rain to drain off. “

The rivers can also continue to rise after the rain stops when water flows into the catchment area.

“Don’t let the blue skies fool you, it doesn’t mean the risk is over … people can get into trouble,” Austin said.

The focus has shifted to the southeast of the state, with rain forecast for the coming days.

Over a six-hour period that began at 9 a.m. on Friday, the worst falls were observed in Perisher Valley (16.6 mm), Khancoban (13.6 mm) and Forbes (8.8 mm).

In the 24 hours before 9 a.m. on Friday, Bunnan in the Upper Hunter region recorded 99mm, Mount Palmer 95mm and Merewether in Newcastle 88mm, while Orange hit 77mm.

Cessnock (63mm), Lake Macquarie (57mm), Lord Howe Island (51mm), Cowra (49mm), Bathurst (46mm), Goulburn (44mm) and Nowra (39mm) also suffered significant falls.

The Gwydir River peaked at 6.75 m on Thursday afternoon before declining to around 6.11 m at Gravesend, causing minor flooding.

Major flooding is likely to be expected on the Lachlan River near Nanami on Saturday evening, with Cowra experiencing moderate flooding earlier in the day with a predicted river height of 11 m in the morning.

Forbes and Cottons Weir are likely to experience light to moderate flooding early next week, due to the recent heavy rainfall, as well as increasing flooding from the Wyangala Dam southeast of Cowra.

Moderate flooding occurred along the Macquarie River in Bathurst around 2:00 p.m., with the river expected to peak around 1:00 a.m. on Saturday morning near 5.2m.

Farther downriver at White Rock the river was nearly six meters high and rising.

The Belubula River also delivered moderate flooding to Canowindra on Friday afternoon

The Willara Crossing over the Paroo River in far west of NSW, the Namoi River at Wee Waa, and communities along the Gwydir, Upper Murray, Mitta Mitta, and Snowy Rivers are expected to experience some minor flooding this weekend and into next week.

East and central Victoria were also preparing for flash floods and noxious winds, with heavy rainfall expected overnight.

Residents in East Gippsland as well as West and South Gippsland have been warned of possible flash floods, with rainfall of 30-60 mm expected on Friday evening.

In the central and northern central regions, winds are expected to average 55 to 70 km / h with peak gusts of around 90 km / h, with the Bureau of Meteorology encouraging residents to avoid travel whenever possible.