3 days ago
Flash flooding in southern WA cuts off main road into Gracetown on weekend
Many residents in Western Australia's South West were cut off from their homes at the weekend due to flash flooding, as parts of the region copped more than 100 millimetres of rainfall.
The main access road to Gracetown, about 270 kilometres south of Perth, was completely submerged on Sunday, as the South West was hit by harsh conditions for the third time this month.
Local photographer Chloe Motzouris raced down to the Cowaramup Bay Road with her drone and children to check out the spectacle.
"We had a hell of a lot of rain overnight … a good little adventure with my kids was to go down there and see how high the water had got in our favourite little creek," she said.
"To our surprise, the water was over the road."
Ms Motzouris said despite the conditions, some people ran the gauntlet and crossed the road.
"Me and my little car were not going across there, that's for sure."
Ms Motzouris believed it was close to 20 years since the last time flooding closed the road.
"The sheer force of the water, I'm surprised it won't cause damage," she said.
Shire of Augusta Margaret River president Julia Meldrum said the road was reopened about 10am Monday with reduced speeds.
"We had the crew down there this morning, and the water has cleared at the bridge area, but they do need to remove the debris," she said.
Councillor Meldrum said there was no major damage to the infrastructure.
Margaret River police sergeant Alan Dean said officers had to stop a number of people from putting themselves in danger.
"The problem with that obviously is the rocks and the timber and all sorts floating down the river … there are risks there of people being injured or possibly being swept out to sea."
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jessica Lingard said the heavy rainfall over the past 48 hours had also led to flooding on parts of Caves Road and the Bussell Highway.
She urged people to be careful when driving through wet areas.
"Remembering it's not just about the water in your car, it's about the road condition underneath those flooded areas, so please drive with caution and obey those road closure signs.
"The good news is after three consecutive really wet cold fronts this week … we do now have a little bit of breathing room before our next front is due through later on Friday."
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Wilyabrup, 27km north of Margaret River, received 134mm of rain since Friday morning, while Busselton nearly 60mm and Margaret River 25mm.
A DFES spokesperson told the ABC there were 71 call-outs statewide over the weekend, 20 of which were in the South West and Great Southern regions.
Busselton SES manager Wayne Credaro said the accumulation of weather events in a short period of time had taken a toll on volunteer emergency services.
"Everything has been pretty waterlogged … the rivers are running the highest I've seen for some time," he said.
In Perth, a hailstorm pelted much of the central and northern metro area on Sunday afternoon.
Almost 50mm of rain fell in Kings Park in the CBD over the past 24 hours.
