Flood waters in the New South Wales town of Forbes appear to have peaked just below the record set in 1952 but residents are anxious about when the water will recede so they can start the clean-up.
The Lachlan River started rising on Monday and hit 10.68 metres on Wednesday afternoon – just below the 10.8-metre record – before dropping 1cm on Thursday morning.
“The Lachlan River at Forbes Iron Bridge is expected to remain about 10.7 metres during Friday as the prolonged flood peak passes through,” the Bureau of Meteorology said in a flood warning. “The river level is expected to remain above the major flood level (10.55 metres) during the weekend.”
John Shaw’s home in the centre of Forbes has been under water for days. The town was also flooded less than a fortnight ago.
“The water is on the drop, we reckon, but it’ll be a couple more days before it recedes completely,” he said on Thursday.
“It’s a frustrating wait. I can already see damage to my house from here. But there’s not much we can do except wait. We got everything out on time, we got our appliances and furniture to higher ground, so all it can do now is make a bigger mess.”
Shaw is positive and pointed to sticks placed in the ground to mark the height of the water – it showed the water was slowly receding.
“Look, I’m lucky at the end of the day, the sun is out, the blue sky is out, we were able to do what we can,” he said. “I was surprised by it, but not shocked. How many people can say they have an indoor and outdoor pool?”
Forbes has been cut in half this week by the flooding – leaving families and friends separated either north or south of the river. The initial rush of water on Monday was fast but then it took a few days for the river to peak – giving residents time to prepare.
Sandbags cover fences and doors, emergency crews stand ready, and residents have flocked to the river’s banks to see how high the water is.
About 1,000 people have been evacuated from central Forbes. The NSW SES said it had performed 12 flood rescues and handled 265 requests for help in the 24 hours to Thursday morning.
Authorities have issued 113 flood warnings and 23 evacuation orders across the state, including for the central west towns of Forbes and Gooloogong, Gunnedah in the north-east and the southern border town of Moama.
Karen Frogley has been standing at the edge of the water to check the river’s height daily – her son is stuck on the other side.
“We got everything to higher ground, the SES have taken me to see him before, we even saved the cat, but all I can do now is wait for it to go down before we can properly clean up, and see what’s left,” she said.
“It [the water] has been sitting in his house since Monday, so we know there’s damage there. But we don’t know the extent, we don’t know what is repairable.”
Frogley said it could be months before “normality” returns to Forbes. “Because with the flood water, you can’t just move back into the house,” she said. “You’ve got to make sure it’s safe. That it’s still structurally sound – and that’s going to take time.”
One local mother said the sense of waiting and being isolated meant it felt like “going back to Covid times”.
Children have been unable to return to school, many workers have been cut off from their workplaces, with families wandering the streets and chatting to neighbours.
Many businesses have been deeply affected by the dual floods with some unable to operate properly for weeks. They prepared for one flood, unpacked, and then prepared for another.
Tony Wallace owns an agricultural retail store near the centre of town and was preparing to take out a small motorboat to take stock of the damage.
“It’s Forbes, it floods, but this is different,” he said. “There’s only so much you can do from here though, it’s just devastating for the town.
“I’d say the water is going to stay up until at least Monday or Tuesday, so I’m just heading down to take stock of the damage, unplug some cords, and see where the water is at. If it’s just in the warehouse, it’s OK, but if it hit the office, the carpet or the electricals, the damage will be substantial.”
Terry Macrae has had three investment properties inundated to varying degrees – one is completely under water.
He said the water was too deep to be able to assess the damage to the houses – adding he had never seen flooding so severe in Forbes.
“I’ve been here 22 years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Macrae said. “It’s done so much damage, it’s buggered the furniture and it’s just too deep to go in and take a look.
“But listen, I’m lucky. At least it isn’t a bloody fire, at least I’m still alive, we’ve got backbones to rebuild again.”
