Date | October 2022 -present |
---|---|
Location | Victoria, Tasmania, north western and southern New South Wales, South Australia |
Deaths | 7 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [ improper synthesis? ] |
The 2022 south eastern Australia floods are a series of floods that have occurred in south-eastern Australia [nb 1] since October 2022. [6] Some towns experienced the highest river peaks in decades, [7] and many places saw rivers peak multiple times. The floods were attributed to excess torrential rain caused by La Niña and a negative Indian Ocean Dipole. [8]
In Victoria, the Campaspe River, Maribyrnong River, Avoca River, Goulburn River, Loddon River [9] and Broken River all flooded their banks. [10] In New South Wales, the Lachlan River caused major flooding in Forbes and the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga caused problems. In Tasmania, the Mersey River, Meander River and Macquarie River saw water levels reach major flood levels. [10] With the exception of the Maribyrnong River, the aforementioned Victoria and NSW rivers flow into the Murray River, which caused flooding downstream in North-Western Victoria and South Australia in November and December, and into January. [11]
The floods were expected to reduce Australia's economic growth and increase inflation. [12] According to the Insurance Council of Australia, the NSW floods were the nation's costliest natural disaster on record, with over $5.5 billion in claims. [13]
Lower temperatures leading to lower evaporation rates and wetter conditions in September left the ground saturated. [14] The La Nina weather cycles is also to blame for excess rainfall in Eastern Australia. [14] A positive Southern Annular Mode and negative Indian Ocean Dipole also favoured wet conditions. [7] A band of clouds formed at the beginning of the week, leading to downpours on Thursday the 13th October and Friday the 14th. [15] Many rivers were already swollen from rainfall in the past few weeks. [15]
Strathbogie topped the Victorian charts, receiving 220 mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period, marking more than twice October's average. [16] Charnwood received 209 mm. [9] In Tasmania, up to 400 mm fell in one day. [16]
On 24 October, Renmark received 95.6 mm of rain, making it the wettest day ever recorded with records dating back to 1889. [17]
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In Victoria, thousands of homes were inundated or isolated by floodwaters, leading to declarations of a state of disaster. [9] Australian Defence Force personnel were deployed to fill and move sandbags. [9] Evacuations were ordered in several towns, including Seymour, Rochester, Carisbrook, Wedderburn and Charlton. [9] On Friday 14 October, the State Emergency Service (SES) conducted more than 200 flood rescues. [18] 146 flood rescues were made the following day. [19] At one point around 4,700 homes were without power [18] and 344 roads were closed. [20] A 71-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters in his backyard in Rochester. [21] It was estimated that 85% of the homes in Rochester were inundated. [7]
By Sunday 16 October, attention was focused on Shepparton where a major sandbagging operation was undertaken. [22] Flood waters moved downstream to Chartlon and Echuca where evacuation orders were announced. Echuca residents face two threats, first floodwaters from the Campaspe River and then from the Murray River. [23]
A 2.5-kilometre dirt levee was built at Echuca to keep the Murray River out of homes and businesses. [24] In the Victorian council areas of Campaspe, Greater Shepparton, Maribyrnong, Mitchell and Strathbogie, the federal government made a one-off, non-means tested disaster recovery payment of $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child available. [22] Across the states suffering in the crisis, 23 local government areas were made eligible. [19] Displaced people were able to seek shelter at the former quarantine facility in Mickleham. [19]
Flooding affected Latrobe where work had commenced on flood mitigation measures after significant flooding in 2016, however the work was not at a stage to offer any further protection at the time of the flooding. [25]
The Tasmanian town of Deloraine was particularly hard hit. Evacuation orders were first issued on 13 October for the town of Meander. [26] The Tasmanian SES was responding to calls for help on the same day. [26]
On 13 November the Central Coast Council estimated that the cost of repairing damage within their region would exceed $2 million. [27]
On 21 October, dozens of evacuation orders were made with 48 flood warnings active, [24] as the flooding crisis continued in the south of the Murray–Darling basin. More than a week into the disaster, 8,300 calls for help were made to the SES; [28] 40,000 potholes were fixed. [28]
Another death was reported on 24 October when a woman's body was found on the bank of a river near Gulgong, New South Wales. [2]
Widespread rain and storms spread across NSW, and Victoria, causing more major flooding for river systems. The Mehi River at Moree caused 4,000 residents to be evacuated and reached a peak level of 10.5 metres, [29] with the town receiving 107.8 mm of rain on the 21st of October. [30] Other towns such as Narrabri, Gunnedah and Barraba have experienced rapid major flood levels. [31] [32]
The Wyangala Dam overflowed with a record 230,000 megalitres per day. [33] By 14 November, flooding along the Lachlan River forced the evacuation of Forbes. Over 220 people were rescued by the SES over the 24 hour period, but a full assessment had not yet been competed. [34] Up to 80% of homes in the town of Eugowra were flood damaged. [35] Flash flooding affected the town of Molong's central business district, cutting the Mitchell Highway and flooding the only supermarket in town. [36]
An international team of flood rescue experts arrived in mid November from New Zealand and Singapore to relive fatigued NSW emergency service crews. [35]
Preparations for anticipated flooding in South Australia began in October. [37] The forecast peak Murray River flows in South Australia were gradually revised during October to December. On October 21 it was forecast to peak at 120 gigalitres per day in early December. [37] [38] On 3 November this was revised to 135 to 150 gigalitres per day in late December and early January; [39] and on 17 November it was revised again, to 175 to 220 gigalitres per day. [40] By mid December the forecast was 190 to 220 gigalitres per day, making it the highest flood level since the 1956 Murray River flood, [41] which peaked at 341 gigalitres per day. [42]
At Renmark, the peak was estimated to be 185 to 190 gigalitres per day, and to have occurred on December 27. [43] By this time, 1700 to 1800 South Australian properties had been flooded, [43] and about one levee per day was being breached by the rising waters. [44]
The Murray River is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at 2,508 km (1,558 mi) extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest rivers of Australia. Together with that of the Murray, the catchments of these rivers form the Murray–Darling basin, which covers about one-seventh the area of Australia. It is widely considered Australia's most important irrigated region.
The Murray–Darling Basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, encompassing the drainage basin of the tributaries of the Murray River, Australia's longest river, and the Darling River, a right tributary of the Murray and Australia's third-longest river. The Basin, which includes six of Australia's seven longest rivers and covers around one-seventh of the Australian landmass, is one of the country's most significant agricultural areas providing one-third of Australia's food supply. Located west of the Great Dividing Range, it drains southwest into the Great Australian Bight and spans most of the states of New South Wales and Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and parts of the states of Queensland and South Australia.
Moree is a town in Moree Plains Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Mehi River, in the centre of the rich black-soil plains. The town is located at the junction of the Newell Highway and Gwydir Highway and can be reached by daily train and air services from Sydney.
Warragamba Dam is a heritage-listed dam in the outer South Western Sydney suburb of Warragamba, Wollondilly Shire in New South Wales, Australia. It is a concrete gravity dam, which creates Lake Burragorang, the primary reservoir for water supply for the city of Sydney. The dam wall is located approximately 65 kilometres (40 mi) W of Sydney central business district, 4½ km SW of the town of Wallacia, and 1 km NW of the village of Warragamba.
Huonville is a town on the Huon River, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. It is the seat of the Huon Valley Council area and lies 38 km south of Hobart on the Huon Highway. At the 2016 census, Huonville had a population of 2,714 and at the 2011 census had a population of 1,741.
Renmark is a town in South Australia's rural Riverland area, and is located 254 km (157.83 mi) northeast of Adelaide, on the banks of the River Murray. The Sturt Highway between Adelaide and Sydney runs through the town; Renmark is the last major town encountered in South Australia when driving this route. It is a few kilometres west of the SA–Victoria and SA–NSW borders. It is 31 m (101.71 ft) above sea level.
Murray Valley Highway is a 663-kilometre (412 mi) state highway located in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. The popular tourist route mostly follows the southern bank of the Murray River and effectively acts as the northernmost highway in Victoria. For all but the western end's last three kilometres, the highway is allocated route B400.
Australia has had over 160,708 floods in the last 10 years, many of which have taken out homes, wildlife and many habitats.
The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is the principal government agency in charge of managing the Murray–Darling Basin in an integrated and sustainable manner. The MDBA is an independent statutory agency that manages, in conjunction with the Basin states, the Murray–Darling basin's water resources in the national interest. The MDBA reports to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Water, held since June 2022 by the Hon Tanya Plibersek.
The 1956 Murray River flood involved the rising of waters in the Murray River and flooding of many towns in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The flood was and still is considered the biggest flood in the recorded history of the Murray and described as "the greatest catastrophe in South Australia's history", although few lives were lost.
Heavy rain in March 2010 saw much of south western and central Queensland undergo major flooding. The floods saw inundation of the towns of Charleville, Roma, St George and Theodore among others. Major rivers affected include the Balonne River, Bulloo River, Paroo River and the Dawson River.
The 2010 Victorian floods were a widespread series of flood events across the state of Victoria, Australia. The floods, which followed heavy rain across southeastern Australia in early September 2010, caused the inundation of about 250 homes, hundreds of evacuations and millions of dollars of damage. Weather warnings were initially issued for Victoria on Thursday 2 September and rain began to fall on the Friday, continuing through the weekend to Tuesday. Heavy rain fell in most regions of the state, particularly at higher altitudes in the state's west and northeast, flooding the upper reaches of many of Victoria's major rivers. A state of emergency was declared with State Emergency Service crews arriving from Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania. The floods proceeded an extensive drought period that had effected the entirety of Australia.
Australian rivers have been subject to devastating floods in New South Wales, recorded since colonisation. Flooding in New South Wales has predominately been caused by excessive flows into rivers located in New South Wales and, to a lesser extent, excessive flows into rivers located in Queensland and Victoria. Floods can devastate local communities and impact the entire local economy.
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PS Adelaide is the oldest wooden hulled paddle steamer still operating anywhere in the world.. It is now moored at the Echuca Wharf and used for special occasions.
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Extreme rainfall on the east coast of Australia beginning on 18 March 2021 led to widespread flooding in New South Wales, affecting regions from the North Coast to the Sydney metropolitan area in the south. Suburbs of Sydney experienced the worst flooding in 60 years, and the events were described by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian as "one in 100-year" flooding. Far-southeast communities in Queensland were also affected by flooding and heavy rainfall, though to a lesser extent than those in New South Wales.
The 2022 eastern Australia floods were one of the nation's worst recorded flood disasters with a series of floods that occurred from late February to early May in South East Queensland, the Wide Bay–Burnett and parts of coastal New South Wales. Brisbane suffered major flooding, along with the cities of Maryborough, Gympie, the Sunshine Coast, Caboolture, Toowoomba, Gatton, Ipswich, Logan City, the Gold Coast, Murwillumbah, Mullumbimby, Grafton, Byron Bay, Ballina, Lismore, the Central Coast and parts of Sydney.
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