WANGARATTA’S wettest November week in 70 years kept emergency services busy, with felled trees, a rockslide and flash flooding blocking roads in and around the rural city on Saturday.
VICSES Wangaratta Unit controller Jess Zuber said around 26 unit members had responded to 24 calls for assistance in the week, with half of them on Friday and Saturday alone.
“Most calls were for trees over roads and building damage,” Ms Zuber said.
“Springhurst had a number of trees down on Friday night, and we had a number of private residences and commercial buildings suffer rain damage in Wangaratta.”
SES, police and council work crews kept busy Saturday morning closing a number of local roads impacted by flash flooding, cleared a large tree blocking a road at Cheshunt and cleared a large boulder blocking Wangandary Road in the Warby Range.
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“The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting more storms Tuesday, and rainfall this weekend, so we’re asking everyone to take extra care while driving was we expect additional trees and debris on roads, and people should gear up for another potential wet week,” Ms Zuber.
According to the bureau’s weather station at Wangaratta Airport, Wangaratta recorded 105.8mm of rainfall for the week up until 9am Sunday.
During the same period, Mt Hotham received 233mm, Mt Buffalo Chalet 191.2mm, Harrietville 164mm, Upper Buckland 149mm, Cheshunt 152.6mm, Greta West 145.2mm, Carboor Upper 119mm and Bobinawarrah 109.2mm.
Despite all the rain, no riverine flooding occurred, with falls soaking into unsaturated ground and replenishing the water table, reducing the volume of run-off into rivers and streams.
Readings at midday Sunday showed both levels of the Ovens and King river steady - the Ovens in Wangaratta at 9.95m (minor flood level 11.90m), and the King at Cheshunt at 1.24m (minor flood level 1.80m).
Wangaratta’s November rainfall total ended at 126mm, which is more than double the monthly average.
Retired CSIRO climatologist and Wangaratta Chronicle columnist Peter Nelson said last month was Wangaratta’s wettest since 151.7mm in 1954.
“The 43.2mm which fell to Saturday morning made it the wettest November day since 1998 and the wettest for the end of November since 45.5mm in 1934,” he said
“Weather profiles continue to match those of 1954 this year in Victoria and there will be more heavy rain and thunderstorms in early December.”
