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Drought breaks in Birdsville The drought has broken in the far north east of South Australia, as floodwaters which have soaked much of Queensland during the past four days have begun flowing downstream to South Australia. At Birdsville, 13 kilometres north of the border, more than 220 millimetres of rain in a long, steady downpour last Thursday after previous heavy rains earlier in the week of more than 160 mm. Long time residents say it has been a long time since anyone saw rain like it. “I’ve lived here for 50 years and I don’t think that any of us - even going back to my grandfather - have probably seen so much rain in the one fall,” said one man. Roads have been transformed into rivers in the tiny town of Innamincka in the state’s far north-east. The weather bureau has issued a flood warning for the Warburton, Strzelecki and Cooper creeks.
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Volume 7, Wednesday March 10, 2010
Head
Heads
Friends
Page 3
Page 4
Page 8
shaved for $2000
rally to build billycart
together on sport
Andamooka streets flooded
Andamooka was awash after a downpour of about 40 mm in 20 minutes.
Birdsville too was a sea of water after two prolonged rain events in the past few weeks.
S
By Millie Thomas
aturday, February 27th was an odd day in Roxby Downs. At about 3 o’ clock that afternoon, the town was engulfed with about an hour of a tropical like downpour, consuming the roads and running off our “non- guttered” roofs. Andamooka, however, was a different story, although they were blessed with the rain as well, local reports suggest that they received between 30 and 47 mm in about twenty minutes. A blessing for some, but for local businesses and awkwardly placed homes, disaster struck. The Opal Hotel was severely affected by the rains, which came pouring through their back door. The water and the sludge flowed freely behind the bar and settled itself on the newly laid carpet. Sunday, February 28, locals and employees of the Opal helped strip the carpet, whilst the bar was closed for business. With more rain expected, the Opal will not be replacing the carpet anytime soon. They were open for business as usual on Monday. Maeve Kendrik, Chef at the Opal Hotel said “In 10 years I have never seen the water rise so quickly… as quick as it came, it went.” There were reports of locals pumping water out of their own backyards and seeing chest freezers and televisions float out their doors. For a town with an estimated yearly rainfall of 160mm, having a quarter of the year’s rainfall covered in twenty minutes is phenomenal. “(it was similar to) in 2004 the kids were riding their boogey boards downs the main street” said Maeve.