Major flooding of the Murrumbidgee River at Narrandera has led to the evacuation of residents in 14 households south of town. Warnings for major flooding are still in place.
Narrandera Shire Council Deputy General Manager Infrastructure Shane Wilson said the council did its own estimate of the flood peak and was only 3ml out in its estimate of the flood height.
Mr Wilson said the volume of water flowing through the river in a 24-hour period was 130,000 Ml megalitres which equated to 130,000 Olympic swimming pools as against the normal flow rate of 40 megalitres.
SES volunteers are keeping a close watch on water levels and checking on residents in low lying areas.
“When the water receeds the clean-up will begin. The SES will lead the assessment of the flood damage to be conducted in stages.
“The SES will bring in engineers and other experts to determine if there is any structural damage,” Mr Wilson said.
Emergency works will be assessed in the first three months and, in the longer term, the focus will be on drainage, pipes, roads and other infrastructure.
“The council will run a free waste service for anyone who has damaged goods. These can be left on the road verge and we will collect them,” Mr Wilson said.
The service is expected to start soon. Exemplifing the ‘once bitten, twice shy’ idiom, Narrandera landholder Morna Knight acted to protect her riverside farm in advance of the current flood. With the devastation of the 2012 flood fresh in her memory Mrs Knight took some costly action.
“Because the flood came right through the house and it was shaping up to be a wet year I decided in January to have a levee built,”Mrs Knight said. She said the levee bank was well worth the investment.
The levee was doing its job keeping the water clear of a laneway where she is able to move agisted sheep on to dry pasture, vindicating her decision.
“I am watching the water all the time and moving the sheep when needed. The sheep are being well cared-for but I don’t think I have ever worked so hard. The day the levee was completed it rained.”
Meanwhile another mob of sheep whose owner was not known at the time occupied volunteers on Monday. Responding to reports that more than 80 sheep were stranded in floodwaters, Narrandera and Leeton rescue squads joined forces with the SES Narrandera unit and NSW volunteer Rescue Association Inc in a well-orchestrated rescue operation which extended into the evening.
It involved five boats working overtime in a sheep shuttle, a good deal of manpower and eight hours on the water. The sheep were loaded on the boats and relocated to safe ground.
Octogenarian Alastair Campbell of Robertson St off Oakbank Road has lost count of the floods he has witnessed in the 45 years he has lived in Narrandera. He said the present flood was not as high as the 2012 flood, a view shared by many long-standing locals.
Together with his wife Pamela he thinks nothing of zipping into town in his boat to clear the mail, enjoy a coffee and buy any provisions the couple may need.
Their Narrandera assignment has not been all work for the volunteers. There have been some lighter moments to relieve the tedium.
The Highway Patrol could be for some good-natured ribbing after photos of a police vehicle stuck in floodwaters were posted on Facebook.
Also making an appearance on social media were images of cars being driven through floodwaters, their drivers ignoring the oft-repeated warnings.
SES Narrandera captain Alastair Macdonald went out with members of the NSW SES Narrandera unit through Gillenbah flood water to get supplies to a property.
They then picked up one person to bring back into Narrandera and on the way back picked up another person who had driven into flood water and submerged their vehicle.
This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 10 November 2022.
