Forbes and Condobolin continue battle with floods

River levels at Forbes Iron Bridge reached a height of 10.688 metres on Friday, November 18, and as of midday yesterday, was at 7.48m at Condobolin Bridge, but falling, and was expected to peak at Euabalong near 8m today, higher than the 1952 flood level.

Hundreds of properties have been damaged in Forbes for the second time in two weeks, with homes and businesses inundated.

Forbes airport recorded 118mm, it's wettest 24 hours on record, but it was the widespread nature of the deluge which saw many rivers and creeks in the region rise.

Kierin Martin, who runs Kianma Herefords north-west of Forbes as well as a cattle feeding/fitting operation, has been heavily affected by the flooding of Goobang Creek and the Lachlan River.

He has been flooded in for about seven weeks but could get out via the council road in a tractor between flooding events.

Mr Martin was able to move cattle through the flood water to higher ground but has still seen significant losses.

"There is 100 per cent crop loss, that's pastures and everything. There is no feed left now," he said.

"We baled silage and I counted 120 still standing in the stack out of that. I can't tell you what the bottom of that will be like, the rest of it is gone, it's got holes all through it and water.

"There are fences down everywhere and water all through the house.

"As to the final cost, I don't know. It is too early to say just at the minute, everywhere you look something is stuffed or needs money spent on it."

Mr Martin the nature of the two flood events, which had impacted his enterprise, have been quite different.

"We've had two major floods, one that came up pretty quick and was then gone in about 12 hours and this last one never really got away," he said.

"We only could just get to town and then we were cut off again last Monday.

"The water came up again and down within 24 hours.

"It started coming up again on Tuesday afternoon and it took about 30 hours to peak.

"We lost the house Wednesday morning and we are still waiting for it to go down again now.

"We got the flash flooding first, we got 100mm and had that for three days then the Lachlan got us as well.

"The creek we are on, it meets up with Crooked Creek from Parkes, and backs up from that. Then obviously the Lachlan meets up with us here.

"Most of the damage was done by the Lachlan. We have been shuffling cattle around everywhere because obviously our business is feeding other people's cattle.

"We have Speckles here we have to keep separate, we have bulls and heifers, and cows, and are in the middle of joining.

"We have moved cattle to higher ground which is about eight hectares that didn't go under water. We have had cattle shuffling around on that for three weeks now.

"We have a little bit of feed on hand but we are going through it at six bales a day so it is not going to last long."

ALSO READ:

Inland tsunami wreaks havoc at Eugowra

$50,000 increase in recovery grants for flood-affected primary producers

Mr Martin said his house was still cut off from town.

"I don't know when we will be able to get to town, it was still a metre deep on the access road yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.

"If we need anything we give the SES a call and they sort us out. We have received food drops from the helicopter. We have only been here four years, we just don't know how long it is going to take to run away."

Hamish Wald has more than 60pc of the family farm south of Condobolin under water, but he still feels 'lucky' compared to his neighbours and those who live in the town and along the Lachlan River.

Of Mr Wald's 6800ha property, Banar, he said only 2200ha was out of water, and the homestead built on a sandhill in 1877 was completely surrounded by the inland sea.

"We are lucky, but this flood has been just so hard, we even have water going over sandhills," Mr Wald said.

"All of our preparation couldn't cope with this amount of water coming down and that is why so many have been caught.

"We have had private helicopters here and they have been incredible swimming the cattle through the water and lifting sheep of the islands."

The flood across the property is a result of water coming down the enormous catchment of the Humbug Creek (which drains from country around West Wyalong) and the overflow from Lake Cowal.

Mr Wald said the water depth across the flooded country varied from 15cm to three metres, with up to one metre covering many of his fences.

"I know of people who have had sheep airlifted out of the floods, but I have been able to get all my stock onto the dry country," he said.

"And again, I've been lucky and haven't lost any stock."

Mr Wald said he had 5000 ewes and 350 cows on the 2200ha, which was out of the flood.

"With the country drying out and the feed getting harder, they are doing alright," he said.

"They are all safe, and we are hoping the water doesn't rise any further."

Of his 2000ha of winter crop, Mr Wald doesn't expect to harvest any of it.