The river has been close to its peak for several days now and is expected to remain very high for several weeks after the peak has passed.

At present floodwater has broken the banks of the Narran River east of New Angledool and is moving very slowly towards the Angledool Lake. As a result the New Angledool to Collarenebri Road has been closed.

While it is known that previous floods lower than the current predicted height of the Narran River have historically caused isolation to New Angledool, Lightning Ridge, Grawin and Cumborah areas, it is important to remember that no two floods are the same. This is largely due to the large number of factors that affect the way a flood behaves. So, at this point in time, it is extraordinarily difficult to predict what effect the flood is going to have.

It is clear, however, that there is a lot of water making its way down the Narran River system. There is a relationship between the river height at New Angledool and those heights taken upstream at Dirranbandi and St George. This gives some indication of how big the flood will be. The current flood caused the river height at Dirranbandi and St George to break the record set in 1890.

David Minehan, State Emrgency Service’s (SES) Deputy Controller for the Macquarie Region, inspected the river from a helicopter late on Monday afternoon and early on Tuesday morning. Mr Minehan said although the peak had only made its way two to three kilometres closer to New Angledool in the 18 hours between his inspections, the river was notcieably wider. He estimated it was up to four times wider on Tuesday morning than it had been on Monday afternoon.

Despite the seriousness of the current situation Mr Minehan said some farmers had not heeded SES advice to move all livestock, pumps and farm equipment to higher ground. It is possible that some people are becoming complacent because the floodwater has not been caused by rainfall in the immediate vicinity of Lightning Ridge. It is, however, important to take precautionary steps now while we still can. If any farmers need assistance moving their stock, pumps and/or farm equipment, they should contact Industry & Investment NSW on 1800 814 647. Rural property owners should be prepared to be isolated. They should stock up on essential items, food and medication.