Call for disaster relief after Harden-Murrumburrah is smashed by series of storms

The NSW South West Slopes town of Harden-Murrumburrah has been decimated by destructive rolling storms that swept through the region overnight.

Residents woke at 6 am to rain and hail battering their houses with such force it smashed roofs and windows and gouged facades, leaving a thick white trail of ice the town drainage system was hard-pressed to penetrate.

According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, one of the storms delivered around 48 mm of rain and hail to the twin-town CBD in the half-hour to 6:27 am on Monday.

This followed an earlier storm around 2 am and another about 4:30 am, which took rainfall totals of 89 mm in the 24 hours to 9 am.

The town is currently awash as a flooded Murrimboola Creek, which sits at the centre of Harden-Murrumburrah, surges through the area, across parkland and into the streets.

Businesses have closed and sandbagging is in full swing to prevent further damage to buildings as emergency crews work to also restore phone services and power, and remove trees and heavy limbs blocking local roads.

No injuries have been reported but one person was rescued from a vehicle trapped in a flooded creek near Galong early this morning. Road diversions are in place across the southern Hilltops local government area, which includes the small town of Jugiong further south.

It is understood several calls to the SES were also made from Junee, with two incidents reported as the result of an earlier storm that delivered 28 mm in the 30 minutes to 2:13 am.

Around 117 calls were fielded from residents in Harden following the second, more devastating rain and hailstorm about 6 am.

Residents reported hail up to four centimetres in diameter.

The NSW SES has called for additional emergency support from the neighbouring towns of Young, Yass, Cowra, Tumut, Cootamundra and Junee.

“We had out-of-area assistance arrive earlier this morning but more is on its way to assist our local Harden unit to assist with storm damage due to trees down or damaged and leaking roofs,” an SES spokesperson said.

The storms also impacted local wildlife. Hundreds of bloodied and stunned birds were discovered across the town and surrounds, with WIRES and NSW Wildcare setting up a triage centre at Harden Showground’s poultry shed.

They are currently appealing across social media for members of the public to assist with the provision of boxes and towels to aid rescue efforts.

Hilltops Mayor Brian Ingram was en route to the town around 9:30 am to meet Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke to assess the damage.

He said it was highly likely the town would be declared at National Disaster Zone.

“It’s pretty devastating,” he said. “All I am hearing right now and from what I have seen on social media is there is a lot of damage and I am heading over right now, but what I can tell you is the situation has been communicated to the national emergency people and so the work is already underway to make sure the resources are available to help clean this up.”

Ms Cooke was on the ground just after the storm and said many buildings in the town had sustained serious damage but crews including those from Hilltops Council, Harden Fire and Rescue and NSW Rural Fire Service were assisting with damage control.

She confirmed she had already verbally briefed NSW Emergency Services minister Jihad Dib and he had offered his support for the Harden-Murrumburrah community.

“I’ve indicated that a National Disaster Declaration is the most likely solution to help with the ongoing clean-up effort,” Ms Cooke said.

It is understood an emergency response centre has been established to assist the NSW SES at the NSW Rural Fire Service Control Centre, which is on the eastern fringes of Harden.

Original Article published by Edwina Mason on About Regional.