Ninety-year-old Burren Junction farmer Bill Moore said he can’t remember receiving so much rain, in such a short amount of time since 1974.
“That’s right, in January 1974 we had about 14 inches (350mm) from a Sunday night to a Wednesday morning, I think it was. It was constant, insistent rain,” he said.
Mr Moore’s property ‘Nowley’ received 155 millimetres of rain between 6pm on Friday, March 28, and 12 noon on Saturday, March 29. With more than 250mm dropping in the gauge in the last 10 days.
Wee Waa’s Steve Berger records rainfall for the Bureau of Meteorology, he said: “I took over measuring in the early 1980s and I have never seen my gauge so full, I could barely lift it out.”
Mr Berger measured 139.8 mm from Friday 9am to Saturday 9am and on Sunday measured 44.2mm.
Some Wee Waa district residents reported close to 200mm in their gauges.
Mr Berger said this year Wee Waa has received 330.3mm of rain so far, with 209.6mm falling in the month of March.
“March is when it all started happening, it was very dry up until then,” said Mr Berger.
“We had seven days of rain in March all up.”
He had measured a further 51.4 mm as of Wednesday, April 2, 9am.
Heavy falls were experienced across the North West at the weekend, with 24-hour rain totals to 9am Saturday, March 29 reported as 158mm for Walgett, 154mm for Lightning Ridge, and 114mm for Pilliga.
In Narrabri, flash flooding impacted at least 40 properties and an evacuation centre was opened, according to the SES.
As riverbanks swelled and water levels rose, road closures have been in place with motorists strongly reminded ‘if it’s flooded, forget it’.
Wee Waa has experienced intermittent periods of isolation since Saturday.
Also reported in this edition, police have launched an investigation into alleged dangerous driving after a truck driver was rescued from floodwaters at Vera Leap Road on Sunday.
Narrabri Shire Council has up-to-date information on road closures.
The powerhouse ‘Save Wee Waa Hospital’ committee has pushed for the town’s health service to remain open, especially while the town is isolated and is making the request daily.
“This decision has been made to support our community’s safety during the ongoing flood emergency,” said the volunteer group on its social media page.
“It’s clear this situation is causing significant stress and anxiety for many.
“It also highlights, yet again, the urgent need for our hospital to operate 24/7.
“We remain committed to advocating for the full restoration of services—and we won’t stop until that happens.”
The committee has thanked the staff for manning the hospital.
More rain lashed the region this week, with schools closing on Wednesday due to advice from the NSW State Emergency Service and concerns about flash flooding following a forecast for more heavy rainfall.
Wee Waa SES commander Jennie Fox said Wee Waarians were used to ‘island life’.
“They’re pretty casual about it,” she said.
“People know to prepare to isolate, the river is only just starting to rise.
“Everyone has been pretty good overall.
“On Friday/Saturday we would have had about 15 callouts, three flood rescues including the truck.
“The thing I keep saying is with people who might have a damaged roof, for example, is – we can’t do it until it stops raining.
“Once it stopped raining on Saturday arvo, we hooked in and got done.”
The Wee Waa SES commander urged people to continue to stay calm and follow the latest advice from authorities.
