Sadly, the flood crisis is far from over, but in what must be deemed good news for the morning, the Hawkesbury River has remained just shy of the 12m mark at Windsor.
It is also now deemed unlikely to rise beyond the height reached during the March 2021 flood (12.50m). Of course more rain is expected today and in coming days.
Throughout Thursday the river rose to 11m at around 10.30am. For the rest of the day it remained on a slow and steady incline, reaching 11.50m by 2.30pm and 11.90m by 7.45pm.
Sporadic light to moderate rainfall throughout the night and early morning has seemed to ebb the flow slightly. Peaking at 11.99m at 2.30am, it has teetered around 11.96m since.
At the time of this post, the level was 11.95 and deemed "steady".
At North Richmond the level peaked above 12.91m yesterday. This morning it is still declared a "major" flooding incident, however the level is falling at the moment, currently sitting at around 12.21m.
In more remote regions of the Hawkesbury, including Lower Portland the threat to homes remains very real.
As we go to press, residents along Wheelbarrow Road, Greens Road, Hawkesbury Riverside Retreat, King Road and River Road (between Cliftonville Road down to Cumberland Reach) have been issued an evacuation order due to the fear these residents may become isolated because of floodwater.
A number of schools around the region will remain closed today, including Colo Heights and Colo Vale public schools, Colo High School, Ebenezer, Freemans Reach and Glossodia public schools, Hawkesbury High School, Londonderry, Macdonald Valley, Maraylya, Maroota, Marsden Park, Pitt Town and Riverstone public schools, Riverstone High School, Schofields, Vineyard, Windsor South and Windsor Park public schools.
Bede Polding College is also closed, as are St Matthew's, St Monica's, Chisholm and St John's primary schools.
For a full list of affected schools visit education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/school-safety.
Hawkesbury Council facilities will also remain closed until further notice.
There are currently 99 road closures around the region. This includes ferry services along the Hawkesbury River.
For the latest information:
- NSW SES page www.ses.nsw.gov.au
- For weather and warnings www.bom.gov.au/nsw/
- For rainfall and river heights www.bom.gov.au/nsw/flood/greatersydney.shtml
- and for road closures visit www.livetraffic.com.au, download the LiveTraffic app or phone 131 701.
Matt Lawrence
My passion is providing news that matters to the community of which I serve. I have been doing so now for more than 25 years and my dedication remains as fresh as it was when starting out in the industry.
My passion is providing news that matters to the community of which I serve. I have been doing so now for more than 25 years and my dedication remains as fresh as it was when starting out in the industry.
