An anxious wait is unfolding for residents of the New South Wales Central West, as authorities watch rising floodwaters and wait to decide whether an evacuation order needs to be issued.
Key points:
- Floodwater is expected to peak at Forbes on Tuesday morning
- It's likely to reach a height similar to the September 2016 flood
- A decision if some residents will be evacuated is set to be made later today
At Forbes, the Lachlan River is expected to reach 9.50 metres this morning, and a peak of around 10.55 metres tomorrow morning.
State Emergency Service (SES) incident controller Barry Griffiths said it was "likely" an evacuation order would be made for about 30 properties later today.
However, it was dependent on information from the Nanami flood gauge upstream of Forbes.
"We're not going to evacuate the entire township, we are only going to concentrate on the people who are likely to be inundated by floodwater," SES incident controller Barry Griffiths said.
"We're trying to really to tailor our evacuation if it's required to the lay of the land and what the floodwater's doing," Mr Griffiths said.
An evacuation warning was issued last night, to give residents the heads-up on the potential decision.
Properties anticipated to be in danger are those south of Bathurst street, east of Ooma and Ferry streets, between Lake Forbes and Ooma Street, in parts of North Forbes and the CBD, north-east of the Forbes Railway, north of the Newell Highway and in West Forbes, west of Wambat Street.
The SES has doorknocked residents expected to be affected by the initial peak, and will expand that to other homes if the river continues to rise.
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Forbes, with its normally picturesque riverside views, is no stranger to floods.
The SES has warned the water could reach the height of the devastating September 2016 flood, which caused millions of dollars of damage to farmland and crops around the Shire.
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"Historically, Forbes has always had different levels of flooding and different phenomenon when it comes to floodwater," Mr Griffiths said.
"In 2012 floodwater moved through the town, in 2016 it didn't move through the town, so exactly what the water does is kind of like flip a coin."
Overnight, releases from the Wyangala Dam were scaled back from 80 to 50 gigalitres a day.
While the flooding has been exacerbated by the dam, Mr Griffiths said the landscape is now playing a bigger factor.
"The variables that will change the behaviour of the water is the height of crops, grasses and the saturated soil conditions around the plains," he said.
"They will be influencing what we've got coming through today."
The flood is being exacerbated by the release of thousands of megalitres from the Wyangala Dam upstream and the swollen Lachlan tributary, the Belubula River.
The SES said the Lachlan peaked at Cowra overnight at 12.64 metres.
Major flooding is occurring at Nanami, which is expected to peak at 12.20 metres this afternoon. If that happens, it will be higher than the September 2016 flood.
Preparation for the water is in full swing, with the local football club helping the sandbagging efforts.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTExLTE1L2xhY2hsYW4tcml2ZXItZmxvb2RpbmctYXQtZm9yYmVzLWV2YWN1YXRpb24tb3JkZXItcG9zc2libGUvMTAwNjIwMTc40gEA?oc=5
2021-11-14 19:59:33Z
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