Deluge in Port Augusta after 45mm of Rain in Under 3 Hours

A general view overlooking the town and surrounds of Coober Pedy, Australia, in its usual dry state, on October 22, 2015. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The usually dry South Australian town of Port Augusta, 308km (191 miles) north of Adelaide, was inundated after an intense storm delivered 45 mm of rain in under 3 hours on Monday night.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Mayor Brett Benbow showed the Port Augusta Central Oval, which had been transformed into a swimming pool.

He also said that due to the influx of water, businesses, homes and vehicles were impacted.

“Council do feel for those people, and hopefully you can get back on track as soon as possible,” he said.

With the high volume of water in such a short time, as well as debris from trees creating a dam effect, Benbow said the town’s drainage system was struggling.

It came after the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned on Monday that it was likely there would be more extreme rain events in South Australia over the next couple of days, with many parts of the northern pastoral areas expected to receive between 50 and 100mm of rain each day.

Chief Officer of the South Australian State Emergency Service (SASES), Chris Beattie, said their crews responded to more than 100 requests for assistance on Monday night, most of them in Port Augusta.

“SASES Swiftwater technicians undertook a number of rescues to save people caught by flash flooding,” he said.

Meanwhile, the 20 tonnes of food supplies earmarked for the South Australian outback town of Coober Pedy, situated  846 kilometres (526 miles) northwest of Adelaide, has been successfully delivered.

The supplies were brought in via four RAAF flights on Tuesday, with further flights scheduled in the next few days.

This comes after severe weather, and major flooding in the northern areas of the state severed all road access to the town, including the Stuart Highway, which services Coober Pedy from the north and south, South Australia’s State Emergency Service (SASES) reported.

Beattie said the RAAF operation had gone smoothly.

“It has been a well-executed and collaborative effort for all involved, and I’m very grateful for the Australian Defence Force for its support,” he said.

Beattie warned that many roads in the northeast and northwest pastoral districts of the state are closed, impassable, or very dangerous.

“We are asking people to stay away from these areas, or if you are in these locations, stay put and rethink any non-essential travel,” he said.

As well as roads being cut off, rail routes have also been impacted, with 18 breaks in-state rail corridors, resulting in no trains from South Australia to the Northern Territory or Western Australia.

Beattie said that the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is assessing and coordinating repairs to the track, and at this stage, restoration is expected to be complete by mid-February.