Victoria's emergency management commissioner Tim Wiebusch has defended the timing of warnings for holidaymakers along the state's surf coast, who were hit by an unprecedented downpour on Thursday. The Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines predicted 20mm of rainfall in Sydney over the weekend, a record for the time of year.
The Illawarra and south coast of New South Wales are expected to receive heavy rain and strong winds, with flash flooding possible into Sunday afternoon, particularly in coastal areas. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe thunderstorm warnings for the region, which could impact travel and transport.
Severe storms were predicted for the same areas on Saturday, with the potential to cause significant disruption. However, the warnings were not seen as being late by Emergency Management Victoria's State Control Centre.
The timing of warnings for holidaymakers in Victoria has been questioned by local authorities after 180mm of rain caused flash flooding at Wye River and surrounding areas. The Colac mayor Jason Schram said the level of warnings issued to tourists was "pretty messy" with mud, debris and destroyed caravans.
However, Dharni Giri, a spokesperson for Emergency Management Victoria's State Control Centre, said the warnings were timely and that over 10,000 people received a text alert telling them to go to higher ground.
In Sydney, 20mm of rainfall is expected on both Saturday and Sunday, with Angus Hines predicting "very wet" conditions across eastern New South Wales due to an easterly onshore wind.
Severe winds were also expected to make it difficult to fight bushfires in Victoria. The insurance industry has warned that the climate crisis is making the country more vulnerable to extreme weather and natural disasters.
The Illawarra and south coast of New South Wales are expected to receive heavy rain and strong winds, with flash flooding possible into Sunday afternoon, particularly in coastal areas. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe thunderstorm warnings for the region, which could impact travel and transport.
Severe storms were predicted for the same areas on Saturday, with the potential to cause significant disruption. However, the warnings were not seen as being late by Emergency Management Victoria's State Control Centre.
The timing of warnings for holidaymakers in Victoria has been questioned by local authorities after 180mm of rain caused flash flooding at Wye River and surrounding areas. The Colac mayor Jason Schram said the level of warnings issued to tourists was "pretty messy" with mud, debris and destroyed caravans.
However, Dharni Giri, a spokesperson for Emergency Management Victoria's State Control Centre, said the warnings were timely and that over 10,000 people received a text alert telling them to go to higher ground.
In Sydney, 20mm of rainfall is expected on both Saturday and Sunday, with Angus Hines predicting "very wet" conditions across eastern New South Wales due to an easterly onshore wind.
Severe winds were also expected to make it difficult to fight bushfires in Victoria. The insurance industry has warned that the climate crisis is making the country more vulnerable to extreme weather and natural disasters.
But I think we should try to look at it from a positive side. Like, 10k people got a heads-up and managed to stay safe? That's awesome! 
And on the other hand, all that rain is gonna help with bushfires... right? 
It might seem counterintuitive, but think about it - all this moisture in the air could actually help bring some relief from these devastating fires. Plus, it's just a good reminder to always be prepared and stay informed when it comes to weather warnings 
. So yeah, I'm not gonna freak out about the timing of those warnings... let's just hope everyone stays safe and sound 
180mm of rain at Wye River, that's like a legit tropical storm right in the middle of January. And yeah, over 10k people got a text alert, cool move Emergency Management Victoria! Guess that's what you call timely... or a major panic button press 
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I'm sure the tourists were all just like "You know what, I'll just take this 'severe thunderstorm' warning as a sign to enjoy some indoor activities" 
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. And of course, bushfires are still a thing in Victoria, what a surprise...
And don't even get me started on those 'timely' warnings... I guess you could say they were more like " warning: your holiday is about to go from bad to worse" 
but hey at least emergency management is on top of it, right? i mean, over 10k people got text alerts to seek higher ground thats a lifesaver 
. and now sydney's gonna get slammed with 20mm of rain?? not fun for tourists, sadly 
. hope everyone stays safe and dry out there 
And yeah, the fact that over 10k people got a text alert is good, but shouldn't they've warned them sooner so they could prepare? 
. and dont even get me started on how many ppl forgot their umbrellas... seriously, can't we just get some decent weather forecast apps that alert us when it's gonna start raining? like every 5 mins during a storm 
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Still, I guess it's better safe than sorry... and yeah, I saw those pics of mud and debris on Instagram, it looks pretty bad 
like, insurance industry is warning us about this... 
My caravans would be all like "peace out" too if I were there