Flash flooding from deluge

A whopping 187.4mm of rain has been recorded at the airport so far this month according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Last Thursday was the wettest day so far, with 44.2mm of rain in 24 hours.

There had been 37.4mm on Tuesday and 43.8 on Wednesday, there was a further 35.6mm on Friday. 

The SES was called yesterday to rescue a coaster bus stuck in water on Yarrabandai Road.

Controller Roc Walshaw said only the driver was in the vehicle and they were able to retrieve both him and the bus safely.

“We had a lot of rain in such a short time,” he said. 

A police spokesperson said the vehicle had travelled around a road closed sign to get to the area. Forbes Shire Council closed a number of roads and remind drivers it is an offence, as well as dangerous, to go around a road closed sign.

Other roads that remained closed at 4.30pm Monday were:

·         Littles Road

·         Forest Road

·         Yarrangong Road

·         Ben Halls Road at Crooked Creek

·         Yarrabandai Road at 4 Ways

·         Corridgery Road

·         Salisbury Road

·         Bundaburrah Crossing (access allowed to B-Doubles only)

All unsealed roads within the Forbes Shire have been re-opened to vehicles in excess of 3 tonne.  

On Monday afternoon Forbes Shire Council advised that all sporting grounds and ovals were open for use again but the Lake Forbes Aquatic Area remains closed until further notice.

The Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre has been inundated due to the wet weather – the Brothers 4 Recovery who are visiting Forbes on Thursday will meet in Victoria Park.

The four men who run Brothers 4 Recovery say they have all at one point been victims of addiction and now they are on a “journey to empower communities and youth to implement the tools to recovery”. 

Their mission is to promote drug and alcohol awareness as far and wide as possible through the sharing of their life's journeys. They will be in Victoria Park 10:30am - 12pm with a barbecue.

While everyone would probably like a chance to dry out, there’s a 90 per cent chance of 5-10mm tomorrow and an 80 per cent chance of 1-5mm Thursday.