2022 south eastern Australia floods
The 2022 south eastern Australia floods are a series of floods that have occurred in south-eastern Australia since October 2022. Some towns experienced the highest river peaks in decades, and many places saw rivers peak multiple times. The floods were attributed to excess torrential rain caused by La Niña and a negative Indian Ocean Dipole. In Victoria, the Campaspe River, Maribyrnong River, Avoca River, Goulburn River, Loddon River and Broken River all flooded their banks. In New South Wales, the Lachlan River caused major flooding in Forbes and the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga caused problems. In Tasmania, the Mersey River, Meander River and Macquarie River saw water levels reach major flood levels. With the exception of the Maribyrnong River, the aforementioned Victoria and NSW rivers flow into the Murray River, which caused flooding downstream in North-Western Victoria and South Australia in November and December, and into January. The floods were expected to reduce Australia's economic growth and increase inflation. According to the Insurance Council of Australia, the NSW floods were the nation's costliest natural disaster on record, with over $5.5 billion in claims. Meteorology Lower temperatures leading to lower evaporation rates and wetter conditions in September left the ground saturated. The La Nina weather cycles is also to blame for excess rainfall in Eastern Australia. A positive Southern Annular Mode and negative Indian Ocean Dipole also favoured wet conditions. A band of clouds formed at the beginning of the week, leading to downpours on Thursday the 13th October and Friday the 14th. Many rivers were already swollen from rainfall in the past few weeks. Strathbogie topped the Victorian charts, receiving 220 mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period, marking more than twice October's average. Charnwood received 209 mm. In Tasmania, up to 400 mm fell in one day. On 24 October, Renmark received 95.6 mm of rain, making it the wettest day ever recorded with records dating back to 1889. Impact Victoria In Victoria, thousands of homes were inundated or isolated by floodwaters, leading to declarations of a state of disaster. Australian Defence Force personnel were deployed to fill and move sandbags. Evacuations were ordered in several towns, including Seymour, Rochester, Carisbrook, Wedderburn and Charlton. On Friday 14 October, the State Emergency Service (SES) conducted more than 200 flood rescues. 146 flood rescues were made the following day. At one point around 4,700 homes were without power and 344 roads were closed. A 71-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters in his backyard in Rochester. It was estimated that 85% of the homes in Rochester were inundated. By Sunday 16 October, attention was focused on Shepparton where a major sandbagging operation was undertaken. Flood waters moved downstream to Chartlon and Echuca where evacuation orders were announced. Echuca residents face two threats, first floodwaters from the Campaspe River and then from the Murray River. A 2.5-kilometre dirt levee was built at Echuca to keep the Murray River out of homes and businesses. In the Victorian council areas of Campaspe, Greater