Wagga's flood peak has passed but roads remain dangerous

The Murrumbidgee River peaked at a moderate flood level of 9.22 metres just before 6 am this morning (13 October).

“We saw that initial peak, but it seems to be stable now and starting to taper off,” said SES Public Information Officer Lachlan Gilchrist.

“It looks as if the initial estimates were pretty much spot on in terms of the peak flowing through now and we’re not expecting it to get much higher than that.

“So that still puts it within the moderate category for flooding,”

Yesterday, Eunony Bridge Road was closed along with Boorooma Street, between the Olympic Highway and Gardiner Street. The SES directed residents to evacuate the Moorong area and Edward Street West.

The peak remained well below to initial prediction of 9.3 to 9.4 metres which could have triggered further evacuations in North Wagga.

Mr Gilchrist said it was important to keep an eye on the latest information as Prepare to Isolate and Evacuate warnings are still in place.

“Obviously, these same warnings are in place for those communities and North Wagga, and we’ve seen some local roads inundated by water overnight, but again nothing significant or outside of what we were predicting.

“Some properties may be isolated, but we’re in regular contact with them and they’re certainly well-prepped.

“They’re just basically riding it out for the next 24 to 48 hours.”

Traffic was backed up along the Olympic highway this morning heading onto the Gobbagombalin Bridge.

Wagga City Council had warned that the closure of roads on the north side of the river would force all traffic onto the bridge and has reminded commuters to allow extra time for travel.

Looking ahead, more wet weather is on the way and the SES is reminding drivers to beware of localised flooding.

“We’re not anticipating that this current rain event will have any significant short-term impact on the current levels,” explained Mr Gilchrist.

“That being said, obviously everything’s very wet, the water’s high, so there might be some localised flooding and the potential for flash flooding in some places.”

He warned that deteriorating roads will make driving conditions dangerous and even shallow water may conceal underlying hazards.

“We’re just asking people to just be very, very cautious about crossing waterways. Please don’t is the fundamental message,” he said.

“The condition of the road is generally very poor at the moment so even though locals may know the roads quite well, they could fall under a false sense of security.”

You can stay up to date with the latest on the Murrumbidgee SES Facebook page here and you can keep an eye on the river heights here.

For emergency help in floods and storms, call the NSW SES on 132 500.

In life-threatening situations, call triple zero (000) immediately.