From fires to floods – quite literally. East Gippsland is no stranger to wide-ranging weather events, however in the space of 24 hours last week went from blazing bushfires to drenching rains resulting in flooding on the Mitchell River in the early hours of last Friday morning, and a 3.1 magnitude earthquake near Lakes Entrance on Saturday. More than 650 firefighters tackled blazes which ripped through more than 17,000 hectares after sparking at Briagolong last Sunday, as well as a dangerous fire at Loch Sport which threatened the township, before relief came on Tuesday afternoon when heavy rain began to fall.
Bairnsdale received in excess of 150mm from Tuesday through to Thursday morning, while in the High Country, Mount Hotham bore the brunt with almost 500mm recorded in the space of 48 hours.
The Mitchell River peaked at 6.51 metres in the early hours of Friday morning and had begun to subside in the early afternoon, however numerous roads were closed, prompting traffic chaos on the work/school commute.
Wy Yung Recreation Reserve was inundated with floodwaters when the river broke its banks around the Albert Lind Bridge, seeing Bullumwaal Road and Pound Swamp Hill Road closed for the majority of the day, meanwhile Yeates Drive and the northern end of Bredt Street were also shut to traffic, as was a small section of Macleod Street near the Bairnsdale Skate Park.
IMAGE: Last week the Mitchell river broke its banks, causing flooding on the river flats after increased rainfall in the hill country catchment areas. Howitt Park (in the right foreground of the picture) regularly goes under water when the Mitchell has minor flooding, aggravated by the funnel and dam wall effect of the Princes Highway construction. The flood caps off a fortnight of wild weather, with bushfires and an earthquake contributing to the chaos.
