Millions in firing line as storms unleash flash floods
Ominous dark skies and downpours trigger emergency shelter warnings, while life-threatening flash floods and dangerous storms are gaining strength in a major city.
VicEmergency has warned that severe and dangerous storms in Melbourne’s western, north-western and outer north-eastern suburbs are combining into a single massive cell, bringing heavy rainfall that could lead to life-threatening flash floods.
Authorities have urged people in Glen Waverley, Ringwood, Mill Park, Bundoora, Dandenong, Belgrave, Berwick and areas east and south of Pakenham towards Koo Wee Rup and Poowong to move home immediately.
“You are in danger,” they said Tuesday afternoon.
Millions of Victorians are in the firing line of severe weather that could trigger six-hour rainfall totals of 40 to 70 millimeters.
Thousands of households across the city were left without electricity as rivers such as the Werribee, Yarra and Bunyip overflowed their banks.
Victoria State Emergency Service spokesman Josh Gamble told AAP that residents should be alert for flash flooding.
A flood watch is in place for central and eastern Victoria, including river catchments in the Melbourne region.
“Flash flooding happens fast. Roads can become very dangerous very quickly. It’s deeper than it looks,” he said.
“Low-lying and streamside communities, particularly those known to be in flash flood zones in and around Melbourne areas, (should) be alarmed.”
A warning has also been issued for towns in fire-affected areas; Authorities have warned that burned land does not absorb water effectively, meaning runoff can occur quickly and without warning.
“We have some concerns about fire areas, particularly due to the increased risk of rapids and flash flooding,” Mr Gamble said.
The southern drenching comes as Australia’s arid interior braces for severe weather from the storm band that lingers over the country’s usually dry, red heartland.
Rail services were affected, roads were cut and freight deliveries stranded as hundreds of millimeters of rain flooded many states.
Slow-moving tropical low wreaks havoc across central Australia; Heavy rains and damaging winds are being reported in the Northern Territory.
Some of the steepest falls from Monday to Tuesday were in the NT, with 79mm falling on the Granites in the Tanami Desert.
But the Bureau of Meteorology said only sparse data was available in central Australia due to limited rain gauges.
“It’s certainly possible that heavier falls could be observed in parts of central Australia that we haven’t been able to detect at weather stations,” senior forecaster Angus Hines told AAP.
“There are still severe weather warnings for heavy and locally heavy rainfall, and those are also really big warning areas.”
They extend from the central NT through the Simpson and Barclay Desert regions to south-west Queensland’s Channel Country, north-east South Australia and north-west NSW.
In Alice Springs, sandbagging stations have opened ahead of potential record falls, with up to 60mm of rain expected on Tuesday.
In SA, restoration work began on Monday after sections of the East West rail line connecting Adelaide to Perth between McLeay and Bookaloo were flooded.
Flood watches extend from Cape York in western Queensland to the NT and south to South Australia, as well as parts of north-west NSW.
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