TEN Griffith roads are under water and a swag of others impacted by encroaching waters as the region’s flood crisis continues.
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Rathbone, Millis, Gum Creek, Drew and Bringagee roads, as well as sections of Blackgate, Lake View Branch Canal, Rae and Nelson roads, have all been closed by Griffith City Council due to water inundation.
Emergency services are again warning Riverina residents to never drive through floodwaters after the SES, police and VRA had to rescue a person who drove through two sets of “road closed” signs and multiple barrier boards in Wagga on Tuesday morning.
After months of heavy rainfall the region continues to hold its breath as water flows down the Murrumbidgee River and spills around the towns lining its banks.
In Darlington Point the Murrumbidgee is not expected to peak until Tuesday but is predicted to reach a height of 6.7 metres – higher than the original peak of 6.5 metres.
Already waterlogged rural floodplains are expected to go under water, as is the Sturt Highway at Tubbo Station, 15 kilometres east of Darlington Point.
The Darlington Point Caravan and Tourist Park will be inundated if the peak reaches the 6.7 metres mark.
No caravans have been allowed on site for almost a fortnight and the cabins were closed at the end of last week.
With minimal rain forecast for the rest of the week the peak is not expected to pass existing predictions.
In Wagga the river has been in minor flood for about a month, but SES incident controller Graeme Craig said he didn’t expect to see the river rise any higher this week even with predicted rain.
“The river appears to have peaked,” Mr Craig said. “It was a little up from overnight rains but has started to show signs of a downward trend again.”
The Murrumbidgee River peaked at 8.9 metres on Sunday night.
With an excess of water lying around roads closures throughout the Riverina are causing havoc for motorists, with flooding near Forbes causing the closure of the Newell Highway.
The Burley Griffin Way is affected at several points between Harden and Griffith and the Sturt Highway between Narrandera and Wagga is subject to alternating traffic.
Burrunjuck Dam is at 100.3 per cent, with 17,608ML of water released on Sunday, while Blowering Dam is sitting at 96 per cent. Both are still rising.
