Flash flooding resulted from a rapid burst of heavy rainfall last Thursday afternoon, with businesses and homes reporting inundation.

While the deluge may not have been as intense as the rain event that flooded half of Deniliquin in 2022, it still had a number of residents on edge.

Roads flooded temporarily, and the strength of the downpour resulted in roof damage to a number of buildings.

The Pastoral Times understands that some residents who suffered flooding and damage from the 2022 event were close to suffering over floor flooding again last week.

And there have been several reports of sheds and garages being flooded.

The Bureau of Meteorology has officially recorded about 34mm of rain at its Deniliquin Airport weather station.

The bulk of it fell between 5.30pm and 6.30pm.

The BoM’s severe thunderstorm warning was issued only 45 minutes before the wall of water hit the town.

In comparison, in November 2022 a record was set when Deniliquin and district received 106mm of rain in 24 hours.

The town’s drainage system could not keep up, and quite a number of properties were inundated for an extended period.

Businesses in Edwardes St, Napier St and Hardinge St reported being impacted by flash flooding, with Wood St also impacted.

The Deniliquin and Conargo SES unit received multiple calls for help, with its volunteers working from Thursday evening to Friday afternoon.

Deniliquin-Conargo SES unit controller Jodie Graham said the calls were “mainly responding to flooding of roofs and walls.”

“One tree fell on a residential property, we had four ceiling leaks and rooftop incidents from the seriously heavy rain, and one particular incident was due to roadside flooding.

“There was a leaky roof on Poictiers St, a leaky roof on Finley Rd, a branch fallen on a caravan shelter on Davidson St and another leaky roof on Davidson St.

“Edward River Council assisted with the roadside flooding in Wood St and Edwardes St.

“It was definitely widespread. The incidents were scattered all around town.”

Ms Graham said the first call for assistance came in about 6.30pm Thursday.

“We initiated another crew, so there were two teams of four from our own unit, and we were the only ones dispatched in Deni.

“We helped put tarps on the roof, but we had to stand down on some of the roof jobs as it wasn’t safe with all the rain.

“Thankfully, no-one at any of the incidents was injured.”

Ms Graham said it was evident from the incident that some of the storm and flood safe tips from emergency services are still not getting through to most people.

“In the flash flooding event on Thursday, we saw cars driving through water on Wood and Junction Sts, creating a wake and spreading water onto properties.

“That can be incredibly damaging, so people need to mindful in storm events.

“On our New South Wales SES website, we’ve got a whole list about how to remain storm safe.”

“One of the biggest is don’t drive through flood water - if its flooded, forget it.”

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Wednesday, 15th January 2025

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