Wagga watches and waits as river floods

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.
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"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.

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