The dust storm hit Gunbar before it reached Griffith. Photo: Andy Harvey/Sparkdrop.
Emergency Service crews and Griffith City Council staff are continuing to move through the town and its surrounds to clean up trees and repair damage on Tuesday (25 November) after a freak dust storm caused havoc on Monday night.
At around 7 pm Monday, a storm hit small towns in the northwest of the Riverina, such as Gunbar and Goolgowi. Local weather guru Sarah Armstrong took to social media to warn people that Griffith was about to cop it.
Ms Armstrong has created a rainfall app called Sparkdrop, which allows people in rural communities to share real-time information about the weather.
“I walked outside, thought to myself the air feels like something’s coming,” Ms Armstrong said.
“On Sparkdrop, a user posted a dust storm photo in Gunbar, just north of Griffith. Then my dad phoned me and said it hit Goolgowi, which is closer, so I knew it was coming our way. You could say crowdsourcing is in, BOM is out.”
A number of trees were knocked down, including one at Griffith North Public School, which damaged the school fence.
A tree has damaged the fence at Griffith North Public School. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
SES crew members reacted quickly, working until 1 am to clear up the wreckage. They returned early on Tuesday to continue.
“We reached 63 km per hour with our winds, we received 28 jobs and so far have completed 17 and still have 11 outstanding,” Griffith SES Commanding Officer Michael Borg said.
“We will get to those jobs [on Tuesday]. We have gone around with Griffith Council to ensure the roads were open where possible and made safe. Essential Energy is still out and about trying to get power back to some areas. If you need assistance please call 132 500, but if it’s an emergency, please call triple zero.”
Sarah Armstrong’s SparkDrop app helped inform people about what was coming. Photo: Oliver Jacques
The Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Fire and Rescue crews have also assisted the SES with their jobs and cleaning up the destruction. Griffith Council staff were also seen in the early hours of the morning clearing branches and trees from roads and ovals.
Griffith Mayor Doug Curran advised that powerlines were knocked down on the corner of Grey Street and Blumer Avenue, on Beal Street, Clifton Blvd and on Harwood Rd.
According to Essential Energy, power hadn’t been restored to Goolgowi and parts of Wakaden Street in Griffith.
Trees knocked down near Jubilee Park. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
Due to the high fire danger rating and the expected strong winds this afternoon, all fire permits have been suspended for Tuesday and Wednesday.
More to come
