Parkes Shire Council has closed all its unsealed roads in the Parkes Shire to heavy vehicles following downpours overnight.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In an alert released on Wednesday morning, council has been forced to close the unsealed roads to vehicles over three tonne, except school buses, emergency vehicles and council road plant, because of the wet conditions.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issued a thunderstorm warning for the Central West just after 2pm on Tuesday, where heavy rain was expected to hit the region.
The warning area stretched from Coonabarabran, encompassing Dubbo, Parkes, Forbes and Orange, down to Tumbarumba.
It wasn’t until 11pm when steady rain first began to fall in the centre of Parkes, however residents living in Parkesborough had reported heavy rain before 3pm that afternoon.
Parkesborough resident Robert John Gould posted on the Parkes Champion Post’s Facebook page at 2.58pm, saying he had “just measured 22.5mm”.
“And it was crazy. I think there must have been a lot that didn’t get into the gauge, as the rain was horizontal,” he wrote.
The BOM weather station at the Parkes airport had recorded Parkes receiving 2mm within half an hour to 11.30pm last night, with the gauge reaching 3mm by midnight.
A total of 3.8mm had fallen at the airport but some Parkes residents said they received a lot more.
One area recorded as much as 14mm, while Eugowra Road residents had about 8mm.
Some areas in the shire were also left without power after the storm, with those affected in Bogan Gate, near Gunningbland, near Trundle and north of Peak Hill.
READ ALSO: 2018 very hot and dry for Parkes
Council’s Director of Works and Services Ben Howard said concessions are possible upon request for those needing to use unsealed roads.
For urgent transport activity on routes considered suitable to carry proposed loadings, people are asked to contact council's Engineering Services Department to discuss the requirements.
This road closure restriction will apply in the shire until 10am on Friday, February 8, when council will review the situation.
“Council regrets the inconvenience caused, however, the preservation of the road asset is of prime importance,” Mr Howard said.
“Motorists are asked to use extreme caution when travelling in the wet weather.
“Please avoid walking or driving through flood waters, it may be deeper and faster flowing than anticipated and/or the road may have suffered extensive damage hidden beneath the water.”
Parkes’ February rainfall total now sits at 5.6mm after showers of 1.8mm on February 3.
Though it’s a long way off from the town’s February rainfall average of 58.7mm.
The BOM recorded Parkes’ January rainfall total this year at 41.2mm, just over 20mm less than the monthly average of 61.5mm.
January’s highest daily rainfall for the month was 12.2mm on January 6 – the second highest was 9mm that dropped during the severe storm that struck Parkes overnight on January 22.
