00:00Well, we're absolutely waterlogged. We've had rain here in the Dungog area for probably
00:09four to six weeks. The ground hasn't had a chance to dry out, so we're completely waterlogged,
00:16and now this East Coast low over the last few days can't soak in anywhere. It's just all run
00:23off water, so that's precipitated the position we're currently in. Okay, Digby, can you give us
00:30an idea of what the rainfall was like overnight, just the amount of water that fell? Yeah, well,
00:37overnight the bomb increased the risk of flooding to probably a severe event with 250 mils plus in
00:46Barrington Tops, which is our major catchment area, and that's what triggered off our early alert to
00:53a couple of the lower-lying villages we've got. So in Dungog, there were nine houses that
01:00emergency evacuated, and there was three or four in the Paterson, so that was a precaution. You know,
01:0710 years ago we had a major flood, which we lost three lives in that area and some houses,
01:14so we were acting early, and it was a wise thing to do. So you're joining us, Digby, from your farm.
01:22There's a river behind you. It's looking pretty swollen. How worried are you about its level?
01:28Oh, no, I'm not too worried. That's the Williams River. The Williams is a major catchment for the
01:34Lower Hunter. You see, Dungog Shire provides 80% plus water for the Lower Hunter, and that's coming,
01:42a lot of that's coming down the Williams behind me. Look, all my river flats are under. It might rise
01:48another metre, but I think that'll be the extent. You can see the river is flowing very rapidly,
01:56but it won't be a major problem for me. Okay, that is good news. So you mentioned evacuations
02:03there. What's happening with any property damage, any homes or premises being flooded,
02:08and what's happening as well with local roads? Oh, look, there's no flooding in the homes at the
02:14moment because we're well aware of where the flooding is going to happen. Look, our roads are
02:21getting smashed completely. We're currently on about nine bridges that are under, so there's a lot of
02:27little isolated areas. We've had three landslips. So when this water finishes and we get a good look at
02:37our roads, we'll see there's going to be major damage. And the Chichester Dam, which is the big
02:44catchment area for the Hunter Water, for the Lower Water, it was a couple of centimetres under Red Alert,
02:50which is a major concern for us. And we'll certainly be looking. We want the government to give us the
02:57money to fund the roads from Dungog to Chichester Dam, which is an absolutely critical infrastructure,
03:03and we'll be up for a heap of repairs after this wet weather. Yeah, this rain event seems like it's not
03:09over yet. Digby, what are your concerns going forward? What are you doing to prepare for more rain?
03:18Oh, look, the SES, our RFS people, the community is well organised this time. We'll obviously have our
03:27heads together after this to see if we could have done anything better, which we always will be able to
03:32find something to do better. But the teams are very well prepared and the council staff are working
03:40until three o'clock last night, putting up roadblocks where required. So in that way, the team as a whole
03:48is functioning well, but we'll be looking to see if we can improve it, of course. So we'll wait and see.
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