Record-breaking rainfall has swept across southern Western Australia, causing widespread flooding but bringing relief to many farmers.
The Bureau of Meteorology said a large number of same-day and two-day consecutive rainfall records for August were broken as a cold front passed over the state’s south over the weekend, with the rainfall setting in from Friday evening.
Where did the rain fall?
Jarrahwood set a new August record with 83.2mm, almost 10mm more than the previous 2017 record.
Busselton Airport broke both a record same-day and two-day consecutive rainfall record from the 78.8mm it received on Friday night.
Looking over floodwaters at Wonnerup. (Supplied)
More two-day records were also set in Ludlow and Yoongarillup. Chapman Hill, Vasse Highway, Happy Valley, and Amelup all set new daily records for August.
Records continued to fall on Saturday with 44.2mm for Mandurah and 58.6mm at Shannon, 50km south-east of Pemberton.
But Shannon’s new record didn’t last; it was broken again over Sunday night with another 64.4mm.
South West farmer Steven Jones shows how high floodwaters reached on his property. (ABC South West: Kate Forrester)
Bureau senior meteorologist Jessica Lingard said while the weather system had moved further east, there would still be more rain to come this week.
“There is going to be a lot of rain still hanging around, but I don’t think we will see too much falling into the gauges,” she told Stan Shaw on ABC South West.
“Nothing like what we’ve seen over the weekend.”
Ms Lingard said “bone dry” subsoil in the Great Southern and central Wheatbelt regions had sucked the water up “like a sponge”.
“But in the South West, where we have already seen quite a bit of rainfall recently, it may take a few days for it all to dry up,” she said.
Farmers who have battled lengthy dry spells were inundated by heavy rain. (Supplied)
Flooding, storm damage near Busselton
Areas around Busselton were hit the hardest with around 20 SES call-outs to assist locals with the flooding.
West Busselton resident Lesley Glover said her rain gauge had 70mm when she checked it on Saturday morning, all from the previous night.
Ms Glover has lived in the area for almost 50 years and said she had never seen that amount of flooding.
“I’ve never, ever seen water there before, you couldn’t drive through it,” she said of streets near her home.
Long-time locals say some streets were flooded for the first time ever. (Supplied: Lesley Glover)
Sunflower Animal Farm owner Steven Jones said it looked like a quarter of his farm was a “raging torrent” on Saturday morning.
“We’d basically been flash-flooded overnight,” he said.
“I suppose the real work starts now that the water level has dropped.”
Ludlow almost doubled its previous August record set last year with 83.8mm of rain falling.
A farm access road near Wonnerup was covered in water afer the heavy rain. (Supplied)
Much needed for some
Travis Hawkins’ Mills Lake farm, near Ongerup, received 65mm over the weekend as the weather system moved east across the Great Southern.
Mr Hawkins said the downpour was a serious relief as the water situation had been “dire”.
“Up until last night it had been very dry,” he said.
Mills Lake farmer Travis Hawkins says many farmers were in the same “dire” situation he was in before the rain. (Supplied: Travis Hawkins)
Almost half of the rainfall Mr Hawkins’ mixed farm has had all year fell on Sunday night.
He said he had just sold 800 ewes because of how desperate the situation had become.
“We were carting water for stock in June and July — that’s how desperate it was getting here,” Mr Hawkins said.
“There’s a whole heap of emotions you go through, but we are just so relieved.”
Additional reporting by Chela Williams
