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. [1] [2] 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. [3] The floods proceeded an extensive drought period that had effected the entirety of Australia.
While the flooding was widespread, swelling many major rivers, little flash flooding occurred in urban areas. Melbourne remained relatively unaffected, though several large regional towns, such as Ballarat, Benalla and others, experienced urban flooding.
The heavy rainfall and flooding was accompanied by wind gusts of up to 110 km/h (68 mph) in the state's southeast and Melbourne's eastern suburbs. The highest rainfall was recorded at Mount Buffalo, with 180 mm (7.08 in) recorded between Saturday and Sunday (4 and 5 September). Authorities expected floodwaters to move downstream, affecting further towns and regions over the following days. Residents in affected areas were advised to boil their water and avoid driving or travelling through floodwaters.
Victoria had been in severe drought since the late 1990s and had been progressively receiving increased rainfall since the late 2000s, but by mid-2010, the state received some of its highest rainfall recorded since the late 1990s.
Severe storms moved over southeast South Australia on Thursday/Friday (2 and 3 September) bringing heavy rain and cutting electricity to around 40,000 homes. [4] These storms moved over western Victoria by Friday night and continued in a roughly easterly direction throughout that weekend, bringing heavy rain to much of Victoria.
The State Emergency Service and Bureau of Meteorology anticipated that floodwaters flowing downstream would eventually cause widespread flooding in the Murray River for several weeks.
In Skipton in the states Western District, 20 properties were put on evacuation alert, while in the Central Highlands 120 people sought refuge in the town hall at Creswick and 30 people were evacuated from a caravan park in Clunes. [1] [2] In northern Victoria, 150 extra police and 50 defence personnel were deployed to assist with evacuations and sandbagging.
Many towns located on major watercourses experienced riverine flooding from Friday 3 onwards. The following towns were most affected, the day floodwaters peaked and when flash flooding occurred is indicated:
Around 250 houses were evacuated from Saturday to Sunday. Weather warnings were given well in advance enabling residents and businesses to sandbag and evacuate before floodwaters arrived. The SES and other authorities have been doorknocking in many towns to notify residents most at risk of the need to evacuate. 500 homes in Shepparton were doorknocked and given warnings as a flood peak was expected in the early morning hours of 8 September. [7]
Sections of the following major highways were inundated during the floods:
At peak, around 35 Victorian rivers experienced both fast and slow riverine flooding. As of Tuesday 7 September much of these floodwaters are still flowing downstream:
There were a number of small landslides in the Victorian Alps, one forced the closure of the Mount Hotham ski resort after a ticket office was destroyed, injuring a staff member, whilst another one cut off the road to Falls Creek. Landslides also affected a car park at the Mount Buller ski resort, leaving hundreds of skiers stranded. [2]
The floods have provided some benefits. Water prices are expected to drop dramatically. [8] Many areas affected have been suffering from drought and farmers especially appreciated an end to the dry conditions. The waters are expected to naturally flush out the mouth of the Murray River, an event which hasn't occurred for nearly a decade. [10]
Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia, 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 122 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2016 census, Creswick had a population of 3,170. Creswick was named after the Creswick family, the pioneer settlers of the region.
The Midland Highway is a major rural highway linking major towns in Victoria, beginning from Geelong and winding through country Victoria in a large arc through the cities of Ballarat, Bendigo and Shepparton, eventually reaching Mansfield at the foothills of the Victorian Alps.
The 2007 New South Wales storms started on 8 June 2007 following the development of an intense east coast low pressure system during the previous night. Over the next 36 hours these areas were battered by the system's strong winds and torrential rain, which caused extensive flooding, damage, loss of life and the grounding of a 225 m (738 ft) long bulk carrier.
This is a list of notable recorded floods that have occurred in the country of Australia.
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.
The 2010 Victorian storms were a series of storms that passed through much of the Australian state of Victoria on 6 and 7 March 2010. One of the most severe storms passed directly over Greater Melbourne, bringing lightning, flash flooding, very large hail and strong winds to the state's capital.
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.
A series of floods hit Queensland, Australia, beginning in November 2010. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least 90 towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was estimated at A$1 billion before it was raised to $2.38 billion. The estimated reduction in Australia's GDP is about A$30 billion. As of March 2012, there were 33 deaths attributed to the floods, with a further three people still missing.
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.
High intensity rainfall between 12–14 January 2011 caused major flooding across much of the western and central parts of the Australian state of Victoria. Several follow-up heavy rainfall events including Tropical Low Yasi caused repeated flash flooding in affected areas in early February in many of the communities affected by January's floods.
The 2010 Gascoyne River flood was regarded as the most severe flood to take place along the Gascoyne River in Western Australia on record. Triggered by record-breaking rainfall, amounting to over 6,000 percent of the monthly mean, 313.6 mm (12.35 in) and 5 mm (0.20 in) respectively, in just four days, the floods caused widespread damage in the region. By 17 December, the river began to rise in response to the heavy rains, eventually exceeding its banks within two days. Water levels reached record values at three stations along the river, cresting at 15.53 m (51.0 ft) near Fishy Pool. Evacuation orders were issued for several towns affected by rising waters. The most substantial impact was felt in Carnarvon where entire homes were washed away. Following the disaster, emergency supplies and funds were distributed to affected residents to aid them in restoring their livelihoods. Though no people died in the event, an estimated two thousand head of cattle perished and damage was estimated at A$100 million.
The Victorian regional leagues are the ninth level of soccer in Victoria, Australia, and the tenth nationally. The league consists of eight separate regional senior leagues and is administered by the Football Federation Victoria.
Severe storm events in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia are not uncommon and include hailstorms, wind storms, and flash flooding from rain caused by East coast lows, black nor'easters and/or tropical cyclone remnants. East coast lows are low pressure depressions or extratropical cyclones that can bring significant damage by heavy rain, cyclonic winds and huge swells. Sydney is rarely affected by cyclones, although remnants of cyclones do affect the city.
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.
Between midnight and 10:00 am CDT on Saturday, August 21, 2021, very heavy rainfall resulted in widespread flash flooding across western Middle Tennessee, including the town of Waverly. During the event, much of a five-county area received up to a quarter of normal annual rainfall in under twelve hours, as much as 10 to 15 inches. In a situation described as catastrophic, Waverly was severely damaged by floodwater, with hundreds of homes and dozens of businesses destroyed and swept away. Numerous people became trapped, leading to widespread water rescues. The event resulted in 19 fatalities in Waverly, with another in nearby Hurricane Mills, and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in Tennessee history. The event broke the 24-hour rainfall record in Tennessee, with over 20 inches (510 mm) of rain falling in McEwen. Flooding also occurred in parts of western Kentucky, but to a much lesser extent.
The town of Greymouth, at the mouth of the Grey River on New Zealand's West Coast, has been regularly flooded since its founding. Many floods were assigned names, such as: The Great Flood (1872); The Jubilee Flood (1887); The Big Flood (1905); The Biggest Since 1887 (1936); The Biggest Since 1936 (1977); The Big One ; and The Biggest. A flood protection wall was completed in 1990, and the town has not since experienced flooding from the river.
The 2022 eastern Australia floods were one of the nation's worst recorded flood disasters with a series of floods that occurred from February to April 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.
Heavy flooding broke out in the Central Coast and Sydney areas of New South Wales, Australia, beginning in early July 2022. Around 85,000 people were displaced by the flooding or requested to leave their homes by authorities. The floods' damage was significant because rain fell on land that was already saturated after months of previous heavy rainfall. It was the third major flood in 2022 for some areas in the eastern seaboard.
The 2022 south eastern Australia floods are a series of floods that have occurred in south-eastern Australia since October 2022. Some towns experienced the highest river peaks in decades, 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.
