Lismore flood

2022 - 3 - 29

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Sydney Morning Herald"

NSW floods as it happened: Lismore levee overflows, Byron Bay's ... (The Sydney Morning Herald)

The flood-ravaged city of Lismore has been evacuated and Byron Bay's main street is under water following more drenching rain in northern NSW.

Meanwhile in Sydney, records have been rewritten as the city copped its wettest March ever. The day started early for residents in Lismore who were ordered to evacuate (again) at 3am, while nearby Byron Bay copped a drenching that flooded the main street. A woman is still missing in floodwaters.

Search for missing woman continues as Lismore floodwaters rise (9News)

NSW is being lashed with rain as a low pressure system pushes south down the coast.

"We have already issued a number of warnings for communities downstream of Lismore to start to prepare and put in their plans as this water makes its way towards them." "We have seen the levee in and around Lismore start to overtop, and that will lead to additional flooding, compounded by the flash flooding environment that we saw overnight," NSW SES Acting Commissioner Daniel Austin said. "That water will move its way down through the Wilsons and Richmond river systems, through communities as it works its way to the coast. Residents labelled the situation a "disaster", saying those evacuated to dry areas in the early hours of the morning had been inundated. Parts of the state copped staggering rainfall figures in the 24 hours to 9am on Wednesday, including 431mm at Alstonville, 352mm at Tuckmobil, 335mm at Belingen and 282mm at Byron Bay. Late on Wednesday night, the Bureau of Meteorology was warning of more heavy rainfall and damaging winds for a stretch of coastline from the Mid North Coast to the Hunter,

Lismore and Byron Bay flooded as weather system tracks south ... (The Guardian)

Rainfall totals in excess of 400mm in 24 hours caused widespread flooding in the northern rivers region, with 16 evacuation orders current at 5pm Wednesday for ...

“We’ve moved [our remaining possessions] all upstairs and we tried to put things wherever we could on nails up in the roof cavity. Evans’s house was inundated on 28 February. She was only given a couple of hours to evacuate in the early hours of the morning. Anastacia Gunn and her mother-in-law, Carol Evans, visited the digital gauge measuring the CBD river level in Lismore several times on Tuesday to examine the fast-flowing river for themselves, explaining they didn’t want to “just rely” on the Bureau of Meteorology. “I can only tell you what went on in my small world here, but, within six hours, this place was emptied thanks to the support of the volunteers, thanks basically to the angels who just arrived,” he said. “People were concerned when the Lismore CBD evacuation order was lifted because there was still a lot of rain about in the region.” “There was certainly more preparation than there was a month ago and obviously there were a lot less people in the areas that needed evacuating,” Saffin said. “If not for that peak just a month ago, this in and of itself would be a record flood for the city of Lismore and that area.” “The only reason we’ve opted to stay in our car instead of in our house is because it’s causing too much trauma for our children, one who was also in the floods,” Belinda Walker said. South Lismore residents Belinda Walker and her husband, Mick, waited on the outskirts of Lismore on Wednesday morning after evacuating for the second time in as many weeks. “The flash flooding in Byron and surrounds is incredible,” Lyon told 2GB on Wednesday morning. “To put this in perspective, the prior record for the Wilsons River was 12.17 metres,” Cooke told reporters on Wednesday afternoon. In Lismore, the Wilsons River passed 11.37 metres and was still rising, with NSW authorities expecting it to reach a peak of 12 metres overnight.

Lismore flood levee bursts again (The Young Witness)

Heavy rain has caused a flood levee breach in Lismore along with the forced evacuation of residents in the northern NSW city. The levee height was exceeded ...

Heavy rain is also forecast for the Greater Sydney area. "(People are) running on no sleep at the moment. You're feeling angry as well because the messaging hasn't been what it should have been. "All the streets look weird. "Everyone's exhausted. "In a nutshell the warning systems which failed us a month ago, they failed again."

Submerged streets and floating furniture: Inside Lismore's second ... (Manning River Times)

Disability support worker Scott Broadribb has been documenting flooding in Lismore ever since March 1 and provided two more video updates on Wednesday, ...

"Some hours later, we then saw a significant thunderstorm form over the Lismore area, which led to that extreme flash flooding event. "At that point in time, that advice was the right advice to enable the community to try to restore and work through its recovery process," Mr Austin said at a press conference on Wednesday. "Some hours later, we then saw a significant thunderstorm form over the Lismore area, which led to that extreme flash flooding event. Local resident Scotty Brizzle has been filming the floods and recovering in Lismore since March 1. A submerged car on Dawson Street in Lismore at 11:30am on Wednesday, March 29. "It was dark and I couldn't see anything and I was going to my spot to check the river these last few days and then all of a sudden I'm in flood water. Mr Brizzle found himself in a "hairy" situation when he accidentally drove into floodwaters on Molesworth Street on his way to film the Wilson River earlier in the day at 6:30am. "It was dark and I couldn't see anything and I was going to my spot to check the river these last few days and then all of a sudden I'm in flood water. It was a good reality check on how fast it can actually happen." I had no idea, it was three seconds it took just to be in it," he told Australian Community Media. The woman was reported trapped in her vehicle by floodwaters near Wyrallah Road at Monaltrie, south of Lismore, on Tuesday March 29, prompting a search to begin at 9.50pm. Police spent several hours searching for the woman and her vehicle, however have been unable to locate her. Mr Brizzle said he was "thankful for emergency services" but felt that locals had been "messed around" by the retracting and reinstating of evacuation orders. I had no idea, it was three seconds it took just to be in it," he told Australian Community Media. "I watch these guys on the news and I'm like 'how do these guys get caught in the floodwater?' But it happened in about three seconds. In one video filmed at 11:30am, Mr Brizzle showed flooded streets in the Lismore CBD, which included a submerged car as well as furniture and a bin floating through the floodwater.

Wilsons River at Lismore expected to peak at 12m, search for ... (ABC News)

Wilsons River at Lismore is at 11.73m and is heading toward a predicted flood peak of 12m or slightly higher tonight. Fifty-five flood rescues have been ...

"I was in the middle of shifting my car and looked out and saw a car in the water … It was an old fellow so I had to go and rescue him." Jake Hoppy from the SES said in one rescue on Waterfall Way in Bellingen, a man "had driven a vehicle into floodwaters, attempted to exit the vehicle and got trapped." "We talked yesterday afternoon about the potential for levee overtop, we talked again during the night about potential for levee overtop, emergency text messages were also issued during the night to the community and the warnings were also issued during the night," he said. A number of properties at Stuarts Point are again experiencing groundwater flooding and the SES is advising residents in the town and surrounding areas to prepare for possible evacuation due to overground and potential flash flooding. "If not for that peak just a month ago, this in and of itself would be a record flood for the city of Lismore and that area." The Wilsons River at Lismore was expected to peak at 12 metres overnight, as a search continues for a 55-year-old woman believed to be missing in floodwaters south of the northern NSW city.