The mighty rain

The day before last, 130mm of rain fell upon Greater Melbourne. This the highest daily total since records began 130 years ago. The weather reached a maximum of 13 degrees celsius, also a record low for February in Melbourne. The city has been inundated by flooding. Thankfully there has been no loss of life, merely several close escapes. The weather reminded me very much of a typical Irish summer day; the rain was not overly heavy, but was certainly continuous for a period of over 24 hours, which is not the norm here.

The creek at the bottom of our road, the Koroit, turned into a raging torrent. At this time of year it is usually passable on foot on many areas. Yesterday it reached a depth of 4.92 metres at the height of the flood. Two eejits decided to try and raft along it & had to be rescued via a human chain over a submerged bridge. The damage inflicted by the river is now evident as the waters have receded. Tangled metal, choked with reeds, is all that remains of the fences along the bank. Uprooted trees and rubbish line its course.

Elsewhere, rivers were turned into roads, an entire beach was washed away at Middle Park and the tennis courts at Kooyong are under several feet of water and look like a swimming pool.