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Well, we're getting your rain here now. We're actually getting flood warnings for the Williams and Paterson Rivers including Dungog which is not far from here. One car has already been washed off a bridge, one coal ship is beached off Newcastle beach and another 3 look to be in troube. Some towns are sending kids home from schol due to localised flooding in the Upper Hunter now.

New England Highway is closed at Muswellbrook and between Branxton and Singleton.

My rain gauge only goes up to 120mm and it overflowed this morning since being emptied yesterday. Check out the mud in my backyard...

More pics from my little disaster...

cool!

that bump in your backyard - was that actually put there as a dam? its doing a good job..

Crazy, hopefully St Clair and Glenbawn will get some fill from this!

vincentvega wrote:cool!

that bump in your backyard - was that actually put there as a dam? its doing a good job..

Not actually, it was to funnel water into 2 drains to not flow through my nhouse, but it works as a good one, just under 1m deep. Did it myself, it better hold...

ABC local radio is streaming - have a listen. Hail at Stockton now!

http://abc.net.au/streaming/events/network5.asx

whoa!!

wish we got some of this. our dams got all of 40mm

Hell yeah, we could do with some run off like that. Did you just get that today?

Also, good one bringing up the old mud debate again. Been a while.

BYB-01 wrote:Hell yeah, we could do with some run off like that. Did you just get that today?

Also, good one bringing up the old mud debate again. Been a while.

Yep that's just overnight rain, I got over 100mm to 9am here. Onyl had 20mm or so today but someplaces have had over 200mm in 2 days.

And yep, thought the mud debate should be revived again (since we have some now)

Apparently a swell buoy measured one wave at 17.94m this morning off Newcastle.

Pics of the Ship (Courtesy ABC News):

Is that the entrance to Newcastle in the back ground? The ship only missed safe water by about 100m or so it looks.

how the fug did they do that???????????

way interesting stuff. I listened to ABC radio newcastle most of the day.

I jsut wish it had hit us up here! at least the drought broke for some..

the ship was on its way out of the harbour when it got into trouble.

There was also another ship 1.5km off shore that was sitting there at full throttle, barely holding its ground...

Yes, it's Newcastle harbour. It's beached at the famous Nobby's Beach. If I can get down tomorrow for a closer lok I will but it doesn't look good for keeping the roads open.

Not sure on what it was doing there when it beached but there were 54 ships in queue (coal loaders & infrastructure can't handle the workload), 51 managed to get out too deep water but 3 struggled, there is some suggestion that the ships master ignored several pieces of information given by the port Authority (but only speculation currently). When the seas are high (5m+ waves) and 90km/h onshore winds ships can struggle here. The harbour and oyster bars at Newcastle harbour claimed 200 vessels from 1790 to about 1910. The last bulk carrier sunk off Stockton in 1974 in cyclonic conditions, it was dragged several kilometres against the motors / anchor. For those who did the Stockton run we stopped near it for photo opportunities. Very interesting to see wha they do with it - I personally reckon they will salvage it from there, mostly sand. There is some possibililty of it breaking up still which would be bad. Not much can happen until the conditions ease.

Topical Links:

9 feared missing in floods: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/20 ... 946605.htm

Salvage Crew board striken Bulker:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/20 ... 946551.htm

Concern over ship in distress off Newcastle:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/20 ... 946448.htm

Ship Disaster Photo Gallery:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/feat ... 946095.htm

not good hope it gets better soon!!

There was talk on the news that the ship dumped ballast which corked it and prop couldn't bite on the water, splat.

Also coal tankers are flat bottomed, very sticky on wet sand. I am surprised it didn't get caught up on big ben the angle it came in though.

Would surprise me if it was leaving port as no one would leave when in safe harbour anyway, and the ship was unloaded so why would it be leaving??

It didn't leave the port. I've seen photos of it coming acroos the front of necastle ocean baths which is south of Nobbys.