Eurobodalla Shire emergency services are mopping up on Tuesday, July 28, after days of torrential rain, strong winds and wild seas.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
They assisted residents with storm damage and flood rescue on Monday, July 27.
10.30am: A council spokesperson said all sports grounds were still closed. Cemetery Bridge on Eurobodalla Road was now open. The Kings Highway is under traffic control to remove a rock slip, which is expected to be completed by 4pm. Flooding and storm damage has caused many roads and bridges to close in the shire.
Tuesday, July 28: Emergency crews are working to restore power to many buildings; 1874 premises were reported to have no power in the Eurobodalla Shire at 7am.
Monday, July 27, 7pm: Crews cleared trees in two places from the Princes Highway in dangerous conditions. One driver crashed into a fallen tree, sustaining minor injuries.
3.28pm: Emergency crews are continuing to attend incidents throughout the shire, including at Rosedale, where buildings have been damaged and trees felled. The Narooma area is experiencing heavy swells and flooding creeks (see gallery above and videos below).
2.39pm: Durras Lake, north of Batemans Bay, and Nangudga Lake, south of Narooma, are open to the sea.
Eurobodalla Shire Council assisted the opening of Durras Lake after the flooding trigger level (1.8m) was reached this morning," a spokesperson said on Monday.
The council was due to assist the opening of Nangudga Lake, south of Narooma, but delayed for safety reasons.
"The height of the lake relative to the ocean meant we couldn't safely open it yesterday, however it did open naturally overnight," a spokesperson clarified in an update on Tuesday, July 28.
"The council strongly discourages onlookers at lake openings due to the potentially dangerous conditions. The council continues to monitor lakes under our control. Joes Creek was opened on Sunday to avoid flooding of low lying areas. Other smaller estuarine creeks have self-opened due to the storm flows following heavy rainfall.
"Lake openings are done in accordance with our entrance management guidelines, which set trigger levels - the height at which we look to open a water body artificially - for each coastal lake under our control. These levels have been formulated through consultation with the relevant State government agencies."
You can find the trigger levels here.
1.45pm: Crews removed a tree which had fallen over a car in Valley Road, Denhams Beach. Wild weather was continuing to lash the coast, with waves spraying onto Beach Road at Caseys Beach.
1.20pm: Batemans Bay SES said they had been called to 41 jobs since 5am. SES were assisting with trees down on roads, tree damage on properties and sandbagging. RFS crews were assisting SES volunteers with chainsaw jobs and storm and water damage. A Batemans Bay SES spokesman said crews were taking extra precautions due to COVID-19 risks.
12.30pm: The Eurobodalla Shire Council has warned several roads and bridges have closed across the region.
12.02pm: A houseboat has sunk on the Clyde River south of the Nelligen bridge.
12pm: The Hanging Rock COVID-19 testing clinic said they would shut at 1pm due to wild weather.
11.11am: Emergency crews and police were heading to the Princes Highway after reports of two trees fallen at Benandarah.
10.20am: Batemans Bay Fire and Rescue says occupants of a Catalina property were stuck inside their home after a 30-metre tree took down 60 metres of powerlines. Station commander Craig Mashman said rescue crews were able to inform the Berrima Street occupants to remain inside the premises and tape off the powerlines.
10am: Moruya SES says they were assigned seven jobs between 7am and 9.30am on Monday, including clearing a tree that landed on the roof of a Francis Street home, a flooded granny flat at Shore Street, a tree that had fallen over powerlines at Moruya Heads and a tree that fell over in a Mossy Point backyard. The spokesperson said a fallen tree completely blocked the Princes Highway, about five kilometres south of Narooma. Sandbags were needed to stop a Dalmeny home from flooding after a drain was blocked and the area flooded. A Costin Street resident collected and filled his own sandbags from the Moruya headquarters. The SES spokesperson welcomed residents to call if needing sandbags, and to work together as a community.
9.30am: Essential Energy says 5300 properties are without power between North Batemans Bay and Malua Bay.
8.30am: Police and Moruya SES were called to a flood rescue at Congo Street, Congo, where a man had driven through flood waters.