New Year kicks off with Australian weather warning


Some residents of Australia’s four states will be on high alert for the final day of the year, with heavy rains potentially causing dangerous flooding conditions.

Residents of the lowland region of Menindee in western New South Wales (NSW) near Broken Hill were urged to evacuate on Friday ahead of a flooding peak expected to be higher than the record levels of 1976. I got

Alerts have also been issued to the nearby towns of Louth, Tirupa and Wilkania.

In Victoria, a severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for much of the eastern part of the state, extending from Sale in the south to the New South Wales border and as far west as Shepperton.

On Friday afternoon, Omeo, Victoria, near Falls Creek, recorded 25mm of rain in just 30 minutes.

Warnings for heavy rain and high winds extended to parts of Southern New South Wales, the Snowy Mountains, South West Slopes and Riverina.

In the 24 hours to Friday afternoon, NSW SES had received 76 requests for assistance, 4 of which were for flood relief.

Flooding continues along the Murray River in South Australia, urging communities to remain vigilant as peaks pass through Renmark and Burri, about 30 kilometers from the Victorian border.

The peak is expected to pass Loxton over the next week and reach Murray Bridge, 80km southeast of Adelaide between 3-14 January.

A moderate flood warning has also been issued for parts of the Murray River on the Victorian side, where water levels peaked at Mildura Weir around mid-December and have been slowly declining since then.

Residents of Western Australia’s Fitzroy River basin have also been told to take action, with moderate flooding expected from late Saturday.

Ex-tropical cyclone Erie is expected to remain relatively stable over the Kimberley over the weekend, likely with monsoon-driven storm surges that could bring widespread rainfall to the region. I have.

Fast-moving waters were tipped to soar at Fitzroy Crossing, Noonkamba, and Christmas Creek.

Flood monitoring, meanwhile, is currently being applied to rivers and catchments in the Northwest and Central Northern Territories.

Locations that could be affected include Darwin, Nhulunbei, Palmerston, Jabiru, Maningrida, Wadiye, Urumiyanga and Nauyu, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Also warned some residents of Daly, Tiwi and Arnhem and Gregory districts to protect and evacuate from gusts of up to 90 km/h as a severe monsoon develops across the Top End from Friday through the weekend. did.

AAP

Australian Associated Press is an Australian news agency.