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2022 south eastern Australia floods

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For the floods from February to April, see 2022 eastern Australia floods.
2022 south eastern Australia floods
DateOctober 2022 (2022-10)-January 2023 (2023-01)
LocationVictoria, Tasmania, north western and southern New South Wales, South Australia
Deaths7[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]

Meteorology

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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]

Impact

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video icon Satellite imagery showing Rochester before and after

Victoria

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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]

Tasmania

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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]

New South Wales

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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]

South Australia

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A shot of the River Murray from the air, taken on December 4 2022. It shows high river levels.
The River Murray photographed from the air on December 4, 2022, looking towards Bowhill. The river's water level increased significantly due to high flows from upstream.

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]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Affected states have been Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia.

References

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  1. ^ "Victorian man dies in backyard as floodwaters in Tasmania, New South Wales move downstream". ABC News. 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Tragedy as young woman found dead in NSW floodwaters". 7NEWS. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  3. ^ Cole, Hamish; Fernandez, Tim; Gorman, Mollie; Stephens, Romy (6 November 2022). "Second body found in central west NSW as large parts of the state experience near-record floods". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  4. ^ Slade, Lucy (16 November 2022). "Woman's body found in search for people missing in flood-hit Eugowra". 9 News. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  5. ^ Pezet, Lauren (19 November 2022). "NSW flood crisis continues with storms forecast, water rising at Condobolin, 23 SES emergency alerts in place". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Thousands under flood evacuation orders across Victoria, NSW and Tasmania". ABC News. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b c McGuirk, Rod (17 October 2022). "Australian floods could inundate or isolate 34,000 homes". The Independent. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Why is Australia flooding?". Yahoo! News Australia. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e Sciberras, Allanah; Vidler, Adam (14 October 2022). "Victorian floods: Rain easing after thousands of homes inundated or isolated by floodwater". 9 News. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Victoria, NSW and Tasmania experience flood emergency with thousands told to evacuate". The Guardian. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Daily River Murray flows crossing SA border reach levels not seen since 1970s". ABC News. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Australia floods to dent Dec-qtr GDP, spur inflation - Treasurer". Reuters. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  13. ^ "NSW floods become most expensive natural disaster on record with $5.5b in claims". Farm Online. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Floods force thousands from their homes in southeastern Australia". Al Jazeera. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  15. ^ a b Saunders, Tom (13 October 2022). "Spring weather brings heavy rains, indicators suggest east coast flooding likely this Australian summer". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  16. ^ a b Turnbull, Tiffanie (14 October 2022). "Australia floods: Three states issue evacuation orders after heavy rain". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  17. ^ Renmark, South Australia October 2022 Daily Weather Observations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved on 25 October 2022.
  18. ^ a b Singh, Namita (14 October 2022). "Australia issues flood evacuation orders as areas receive three times average October rain in just a day". Yahoo! News Australia. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  19. ^ a b c "ADF called in to help flood-hit Victoria". Yahoo! News Australia. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  20. ^ "Australian flood crisis: southeast states on emergency alert". Rappler. 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  21. ^ "Floods inundate Australia as the country battles extreme weather". Al Jazeera. 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  22. ^ a b "Victoria's flood crisis 'far from over', with Shepparton inundated and Echuca on high alert". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  23. ^ Seyfort, Serena (16 October 2022). "Evacuation warnings continue as floodwaters keep rising across Victoria". 9 News. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  24. ^ a b Wu, David (21 October 2022). "Minor and major flood warnings issued ahead of low-pressure systems set to bring storms and heavy rainfall across four states". Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  25. ^ "Evacuations being considered as the Coast braces for damaging floods". Tasmania Talks. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  26. ^ a b Dunlevie, James; Smith, Dan (13 October 2022). "Major flood warnings issued in northern Tasmania as thousands urged to evacuate". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Flood damage repair bill for one local council expected to exceed $2m". The Advocate. 13 November 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  28. ^ a b "Worst flooding still to come for northern Victoria as residents await river peak". SBS. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  29. ^ Rafqa Touma, Emily Wind (24 October 2022). Moree assesses flood damage as the Murray River peaks in Echuca with more wet weather on the way. Retrieved on 25 October 2022.
  30. ^ Moree, New South Wales October 2022 Daily Weather Observations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved on 25 October 2022.
  31. ^ Holly Tregenza and Madeleine Cross (21 October 2022). Flooding continues as more rain falls in NSW, Murray River peak yet to come. ABC News. Retrieved on 25 October 2022.
  32. ^ Breanna Chillingworth (24 October 2022). Parts of Narrabri being evacuated on Monday night as town braces for major flooding. The Northern Daily Leader. Retrieved on 25 October 2022.
  33. ^ Sato, Kenji; Pezet, Lauren. "Thousands stranded in homes as flash flooding batters Central West NSW, Wyangala Dam spills at record rate". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  34. ^ "NSW floodwaters rise faster than expected, Forbes told to evacuate urgently". ABC News. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  35. ^ a b Johnson, Keely (16 November 2022). "Flood waters peak at Forbes, hundreds of Eugowra homes left damaged". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  36. ^ "Floods rage through NSW town of Molong, leaving 'apocalyptic' scenes in its path". SBS News. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  37. ^ a b "Engineers deployed as South Australia braces for floods". The New Daily. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  38. ^ Renmark levee banks eroded and left with holes ahead of historic high flows, Sam Bradbrook, ABC News, 21 October 2022. Retrieved on 25 October 2022.
  39. ^ River Murray flows into SA could now peak at 150 gigalitres per day if flooding continues, ABC News, 3 November 2022
  40. ^ Higher River Murray flows of at least 175 gigalitres per day expected by December, SA government says, ABC News, 17 November 2022
  41. ^ River Murray flooding to be worst in almost 70 years with hundreds of properties already deluged, ABC News, 15 December 2022
  42. ^ When and where the River Murray flooding is expected to peak in South Australia's Riverland, ABC News, 16 December 2022
  43. ^ a b River Murray peak passes Renmark, up to 1,800 properties flooded so far, ABC News, 28 December 2022
  44. ^ Work to repair more than 50 levee banks underway as burst impacts Murraylands town, ABC News, 19 December 2022
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