Flooding April 2025

 Over the two days 21-22 April 2025 my Weather Station recorded 131.8mm of rain.  This lead the SES to issue a flood warning for the Genoa and Cann Rivers.  For the Genoa this indicated moderate flooding. We noticed indications of this on our morning walk on 23 April beginning with the amount of water in the marsh between Lakeside Drive and Bottom Lake.

A puddle forming on the bend at Fisheries Jetty was a further indicator ...

.. as was the disappearance of some jetties.

The Boardwalk was just clear of the water (although an earlier walker posted to Facebook an image of a small mullet on the deck). 

Another traditional road cutting spot.

This shows the level of the Genoa River at the Gorge, 35+kms upstream.  Obviously there is a fair lag before the drop of level gets down to Lakeside Drive.

I decided that I didn't want to drive up to Wangarabell and slither down the track to the flood gauge but decided to check the situation at Genoa Falls (on Genoa Creek, a few kms West of the village).  It was rather photogenic. 

Charles Darwin was getting ready to make an award, but fortunately this guy is still in the gene pool rather than the more tangible pool below the Falls.

Heading back to the village and as expected the Creek was well over the cow paddocks.  (No sign of the Emu which sometimes comes out of this country.)

Moderate flooding seems a fair summary.

The view downstream from the footbridge.

I had a pleasant chat with a land owner about the current situation (and many other pastoral matters).  On hearing of the flood warning he had driven from Bombala the previous evening and noted that while raining South of Bombala it stopped halfway along Imlay Rd and didn't resume until the Wallagaraugh.  The paddocks along Black Creek had spread pretty widely.  

On returning to Mallacoota (about 1300hrs) the signs indicated that Lakeside Drive was closed due to 'water over the road".  At that time it wasn't fully over at Fisheries Jetty, but when I walked down at about 1600hrs it was well over.

To balance the adjectives, Fisheries Jetty was well under.

Mullet access to the boardwalk was now much easier.

The next low point was also rather damp.

Seas calm down

 After at least two days of very heavy seas they calmed down somewhat on 2 April.  Looking out from Captain Stevenson's Point the beach to the East of the Mouth was strewn with seaweed suggesting that the big swells had been breaking over it (or at least flinging the weed over it).  So I took myself and my camera to Bastion Point.

There was still a large amount of seaweed floating in the water.

As well as the amount washed up on the sandbar East of the Mouth.

The water level in Bottom Lake was still very high (80mm of rain in the catchment and Southerly gales pushing sea water in will cause that) so the bars usually occupied by waders etc were well under water.  So the birds shifted towards the Mouth.

An example of the seaweed flung over the beach.

This situation went as far as I could see along the beach.

Although much less disturbed than the previous two days the sea was still quite rough.

I then moved to look at the improved breakwater.  It was unclear whether the highest rocks had been thrown there by waves or were the ESGC view of needed sculpture.

Waves were still breaking over the wall.  It will be interesting to see if rocks have been knocked into the channel which the redesign and current dip into the public purse is supposed to have prevented.