RESIDENTS spent the weekend cleaning up after a summer’s worth of rain fell across the district.
As predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology last week, a cold front that passed over the area on Friday produced the area’s second major significant rainfall event in the space of three weeks.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Kerang gauge recorded 36 millimetres of rain between 9am Friday and 9am Saturday – slightly above the town’s December average of 27.1 millimetres.
However, many residents’ rainfall gauges recorded between 80 millimetres and 90 millimetres in the space of 24 hours, figures that match or surpass Kerang’s long-term summer rainfall average of 74.2 millimetres.
Twenty-four hour rainfall totals were higher in the eastern parts of the Shire of Gannawarra, with Cohuna residents registering between 90 millimetres and 113 millimetres and 100 millimetres falling in Leitchville.
Koondrook and Barham residents received 60 millimetres during the 24-hour period, with 50 millimetres recorded at Murrabit and 44 millimetres at Quambatook.
The rain began falling during Friday night and continued to the early hours of Saturday morning, overwhelming the capacity of stormwater drains throughout the municipality’s towns, with roads inundated with water.
“Back in 2010 and 2011 (when the last floods were) the roads were flooded, but the yards not as much,” Cohuna resident, Wendy McGlone said.
“Because it came in such a quick space of time, the rain did not have the chance to drain away”
The Kerang unit of the Victoria State Emergency Service attended more than 30 callouts between Friday night and Sunday morning, ranging from internal roof collapses, businesses being inundated with water and removing fallen tree limbs from roads.
“There were two houses in Cohuna and one in Kerang where water entered the roof cavity and caused ceilings to collapse,” unit controller, Jamie Macri said.
“It has been a while since we’ve had rain like that. It brought back memories of 2010, but hopefully there was not as much rain in the south and we do not get any follow-up rains.”
The Kerang Fire Brigade was also called to pump water from underneath houses in Victoria Street and Ninth Street.
