HOMES were evacuated and streets turned into rivers as
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Griffith was pounded by a weekend of relentless rain, the most sustained downpour in the region since before the drought.
The dambusting deluge saw an incredible 133mm fall in the city in the 24 hours until 9am yesterday – the fourth-wettest March day in recorded history – and forced the SES to issue evacuation orders for low-lying areas of Hanwood and Yoogali.
An evacuation centre was set up at Westend Stadium
in the early hours of yesterday morning as fast-rising floodwaters threatened property and, in extreme cases, entered homes.
Waters were still rising late yesterday afternoon and authorities have warned residents to take “extreme caution” when driving or walking through affected areas.
The flood crisis comes after a week of rain in Griffith and as vast tracts of NSW are engulfed by water in a weather event described by the SES as “unprecedented in its scope”.
At about 3am yesterday, residents were issued voluntary evacuation orders in Edon Street, East Street and Moura Street in Yoogali and Leonard Road, School Street, Wilga Road and Ash Street in Hanwood.
Parts of Yenda, Bilbul, Beelbangera, West Griffith and Collina were also inundated by flash flooding.
The wild weather forced Regional Express (REX) to divert Griffith-bound flights ZL466 and 477 from Sydney to Narrandera on Saturday, with council later closing Griffith aerodrome after heavy flooding on the runway and in the carpark.
The drama also sparked power outages in some areas and the closure of a number of local schools today.
Some access roads in and out of Griffith were also closed due to floodwater.
The Murrumbidgee River at Darlington Point hit 3.5 metres and rising yesterday and is predicted to peak on Sunday at six metres.
Rains eased yesterday and today is expected to be sunny as the slowmoving low-pressure trough responsible for the rain dissipates.
Brett Kerruish from Griffith SES said local crews had worked tirelessly through the weekend and had begun sandbagging the worst hit properties yesterday.
“It has been quite incredible ... water has gone up to a metre in some streets,” Mr Kerruish said.
“There was a car under an awning at Yoogali General Store that had no water around it at midnight on Saturday but by 5am there was water half-way up the doors.”
Mr Kerruish praised the tireless efforts of local SES members and the assistance from Griffith City Council, NSW Rural Fire Service, NSW Fire and Rescue and Griffith Police.
“Many of us have only had a couple of hours sleep in the last two days,” he said.
“Our focus has been getting sandbags out to houses that might be threatened and once we’ve completed that we’ll try and finish off the leaking roofs and that sort of thing.”
He urged residents not to walk, ride or drive through floodwaters.
For emergency assitance, call the SES hotline on 132 500.
