Wagga watches and waits as river floods

Long-time Wagga resident Russell Howie says the swollen Murrumbidgee River of today
doesn't compare with the surging torrent of 1974 - yet.
Mr Howie mucked about in the flooded river as a teenager almost four decades ago.
This week he stood on the bank and watched as a group of local teenagers swam across
what is normally the carpark of the Wagga Beach picnic area and onto the roof of an
amenities block that's almost completely submerged.
"This is a reasonable river but it's nothing compared to 1974," Mr Howie said.
"But if the rain comes (later this week) it's going to put a lot of pressure on the
levies."
That's a sentiment shared by a team of NSW government water officers who are
measuring the river's volume just a kilometre downstream from Wagga Beach.
They tow what looks like a high-tech body board, with GPS and sonar equipment
attached, across the Murrumbidgee to record the river's width, depth and velocity.
One of the officers says he's confident the river has peaked.
But asked what happens if the predicted rains fall from Wednesday onwards, he
replies: "We're all going on holiday."
A deluge later this week could threaten hundreds of homes in Wagga Wagga.
The Murrumbidgee's northern levy is 9.8 metres high and the river peaked at 9.7
metres on Monday.
The city itself will be protected no matter what by an 11-metre levy, authorities say.
More than 700 people have been evacuated from Gumly Gumly and North and East Wagga.
They're staying with family and friends or at local motels.
Local telco technician Lindsay Wilson has two nephews who've had to flee North Wagga.
"One nephew's pulled out everything possible including a brand new floating floor
that he'd just put in," Mr Wilson says.
"They're just hoping that everything's OK when they get back."
Mr Wilson, who lives on higher ground in the southern suburb of Tolland, says it's
lucky the river rose slowly so people had time to prepare.
His nephews started clearing out on Thursday and had their houses emptied by Sunday
afternoon.
"But everyone is worried about 'What if?'" Mr Wilson said.
"If we get another torrential downpour things could get a bit hectic."
East Wagga resident Adam Davies is preparing for the worst.
He spent Monday picking up sandbags from the SES headquarters to protect his home.
"In case of emergency we're sandbagging the doors and stuff," he said.
"It's rising slowly and it's up further than I thought it was going to be, so we're
getting prepared."
Wagga mayor Wayne Geale is confident the river won't breach the levies as the
situation stands.
"But the next test is going to be on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday," Cr Geale told
AAP.
"If we have another really, really bad rain event - and if it hits up in the higher
areas where all the dams are - we could be in some more trouble."
The mayor said the city was "pretty calm" at the moment because most residents
weren't threatened.
The floodwaters at present were "like a tourism thing with thousands of people
walking along the levy banks".
A large group of locals gathered behind the tourist centre on Monday taking photos
of the historical marker which indicates the height of the 1974 flood. It reads
"10.75 metres".
Marg Brain, a nurse at local hospital, witnessed that flood as a youngster, like Mr
Howie.
She's philosophical about the weather bureau's prediction of more rain to come.
"What will be will be," she says.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This email is intended for the use of the addressee only. If you receive this email
in error, please delete it immediately. This email may contain information which is
confidential and/or legally privileged. You must not use or disclose the contents of
this email, or add the sender's email address to any database, list or mailing list
unless you are expressly authorised to do so. The statements or views expressed in
this email are those of the individual sender and are not those of Australian
Associated Press Pty Ltd (AAP). These statements are not binding on AAP, except
where the sender expressly and with authority, states them to be. AAP is unable to
review the contents of all the email on its system. To the extent permitted by law,
AAP disclaims all liability for any loss or damage caused by the contents of this
email. www.aap.com.au