- Click here for comprehensive, up-to-date information on road closures at Nymboida, Baryulgil, Copmanhurst, Grafton, Ulmarra, Brushgrove, Lawrence, Maclean and Yamba.
UPDATE, 5.30PM: Tonight the engineering feats of the Grafton levee wall could be tested like never before as the mighty Clarence River laps at its banks.
Built on a floodplain, Grafton is historically no stranger to floods, with an 8.13m flood in 1890 the biggest on record. But its walls have not been breached since construction in 1967.
In 2013 more than 2100 residents were evacuated from the suburbs of Dovedale and Northmeadow as the river reached a height of 8.08m. But, apart from the odd scare here and there, the city of Grafton held firm.
As dusk fell on an eventful day in the Jacaranda City, the ‘Big River’ sat above 7.5m as onlookers watched the vast volume of water wash by at the Prince St gauge.
The level has already exceeded the Bureau of Meteorology’s predicted evening peak of 7.40m with a high tide looming at 12.08am tonight.
An historically important indicator of the pending conditions in the Clarence River at Grafton is the maximum height at Lilydale further upstream.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Clarence River peaked at 20.94 metres at Lilydale in 2013, but today reached a maximum height of 17.97m at 6.15pm before starting to recede down to 17.74m by 8pm. The upper Clarence River catchment has received comparatively much lower rainfall total since 9am today and levels have also started receding at Baryulgil (max 11.78m at 3pm) further upstream.
Late this afternoon the slow-moving weather system producing widespread intense rainfall began contracting towards the coast, reducing the amount of water entering catchment upstream.
Hence, Grafton could well escape a catastrophic flood despite almost 300mm falling in the city since Sunday – which caused major flash flooding, inundation and road closures inside the walls.
RELATED STORY: Flash floods as ‘rain bomb’ hits Grafton
However, the Lower Clarence and areas downstream of Grafton have not escaped as lightly. Residents at Southgate and Ulmarra have been forced to evacuate, with major flooding at Ulmarra up to 5.88m at 8.15m and expected to breach the levee wall (5.90m) either tonight or tomorrow morning with the high tide (12.25pm).
(UPDATE 9.30PM): See this video below of water tipping over the Ulmarra levee tonight from former MP and Ulmarra resident Steve Cansdell.
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Levels continue to rise at Brushgrove (4.80m) and Tyndale (4.45m), The situation is just as dire at Maclean (3.02m), where major flooding is already occurring and expected to overtop the town’s 3.3m levee with the high tide on Tuesday.
It’s been a relentless two days in Yamba, which has received 254.2 since 9am, adding to the 274mm the previous 24 hours, with falls only easing since about 7pm. Yamba residents are cut off from the Pacific Highway, with Yamba Road closed due to flooding. Evacuations have also occurred across the mouth of the Clarence at Iluka.
Meanwhile, minor flash flooding has occurred at Wooli Caravan Park after the seaside village received 98mm and nearby Minnie Water 176mm since 9am this morning.
For the latest updates on the flood situation throughout the night please refer to the Bureau of Meteorology’s warnings for the Clarence River.
As the weather system threatens areas to the south, Clarence Valley residents will be hoping the rainfall remains predominantly coastal and that the headwaters of the already swollen Nymboida and Orara rivers around Dorrigo and tablelands around Dorrigo and Coramaba avoid further significant falls.
Nevertheless, while all signs point towards a drier Grafton tomorrow morning, the weatherman certainly underestimated last night’s drenching of biblical proportions further north, and several business owners in Prince St have left nothing to chance, sandbagging their businesses as a precautionary measure overnight.
In the event of an emergency, an evacuation centre has been set up at the Grafton Racecourse in Powell St.
UPDATE, 3PM: The Clarence River at Prince St, Grafton has surpassed the 7m mark and is expected to peak at 7.3m later this evening.
However, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned further rises are possible with intense rainfall continuing to impact widespread areas of the catchment.
The Grafton levee wall is generally considered to protect the city from floodwaters below eight metres.
Meanwhile, the Gwydir Highway is closed west of Grafton due to multiple landslides.
ORIGINAL STORY, 6.30AM: The Clarence River reached major flood level as intense rainfall from the slow moving weather system experienced in southeast Queensland in recent days arrived at Grafton overnight.
The Prince St gauge clicked over 5.4m about 5.40am on the Floods Near Me NSW app, while Grafton had received 85mm of rain since 2.10am, and a total of 190.4mm since 9am yesterday.
The ‘rain bomb’ has been concentrated towards the coast, with Minnie Water (251mm), Yamba (256mm) and Lawrence (240mm) the highest in the Clarence Valley so far. Meanwhile, places further inland such as Tabulam (75mm) and Dorrigo (70mm) – often used as guides for the volume of water coming down the northern and southern tributaries – have so far experienced significantly less rainfall since 9am yesterday.
However, it is an alarming situation in the Richmond/Wilson, Brunswick and Tweed catchments to the northeast, with widespread numbers above 200mm. Dunoon (644mm), The Channon (552mm) and Uki 490mm are among the highest measurements so far, while the Bureau of Meteorology reported the Wilson River overtopped the Lismore levee in the early hours of this morning, exceeding the March 1974 peak (12.15m), and may reach 14.0m by this afternoon, which is above the record flood level of February 1954 (12.27m).
Further intense rainfall is forecast for Grafton and surrounding districts throughout Monday, with flooding similar to the March 2021 event predicted. A latest major flood warning issued for the Clarence River at 4.36am stated that further rises are possible depending on the amount of rain that falls over the next 24 hours.
Major flooding is also possible at Ulmarra (4.90m) late Monday morning and Maclean (2.50m) with the high tide this morning.
Below are photos taken by Graham Mackie at the junction of the Mann and Clarence rivers yesterday (Sunday, Feb 27).
