12 October 2022

UPDATED: A bigger river than last time but hopes it will remain under 9.2m at Wagga

| Chris Roe
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River flood

The Murrumbidgee at Wagga has exceeded the August peak. Photo: Chris Roe.

Floodwaters exceeded August levels overnight but the SES has revised down its expected Wednesday peak prediction after lower than anticipated levels at Gundagai.

SES deputy incident controller Shane Hargrave told North Wagga locals that the river was expected to peak later on Wednesday and was hopeful that levels would remain under 9.2 metres.

“It’s looking better than what it looked like yesterday now that we’ve seen that peak at Gundagai,” he said.

“I’m feeling quite comfortable that we won’t get to those isolation triggers for the majority of the North Wagga proper; we may still see some of that impact down on Mill Street but generally it’s about that 9.2 height that we may see that impact.”

READ ALSO ‘It’s water – you saw it last month’: Wagga SES tells rubberneckers to stay away as river nears peak

Waters continued to rise about 4cm an hour, reaching the ‘moderate’ level of 9 metres by 11:30 am today.

Just after midday, the SES released a warning for Gumly Gumly, advising residents in low-lying areas to “prepare to Isolate”.

The clearer weather across the catchments has seen a reduction of the inflows to Burrinjuck Dam which has fallen from 106 per cent capacity to 104 per cent.

“The dams have decreased their outflows, which is good,” he said, acknowledging that they were still bracing for more rain in the catchments later this week.

“The focus is still on preparing for next week to ensure that we don’t go higher than that 9.3 mark.”

car in flood

The body of a man has been found in a submerged vehicle in Central West New South Wales. Photo: NSW Police.

There was a sobering reminder of the dangers posed by floodwaters with the discovery of a body located in a submerged vehicle in the state’s central west.

A 46-year-old man was reported missing after being last seen about 45 kilometres south of Bathurst on Sunday, triggering a multi-agency search.

On Tuesday (11 October), PolAir located a vehicle fully submerged in the Campbells River.

READ ALSO Damaging deluges leave Temora Council roadwork plans stuck in rut

SES crews recovered the vehicle from the water and discovered the body, believed to be that of the missing man.

Motorists are reminded not to drive into any roadways that are covered by water due to the dangers of becoming trapped.

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.

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