Quick Read
- Victoria’s surf coast experienced an ‘unprecedented’ downpour, with 186.2mm of rain in 24 hours at Lorne, a new record.
- Flash floods washed 20 cars into the ocean and displaced 600 people in Victoria, with 60 needing emergency accommodation.
- Authorities defended warning timing, stating 10,000+ text alerts were issued, while local officials criticized prediction accuracy.
- New South Wales South Coast is now under severe weather warning, with 274+ incidents reported, including 40 vehicles trapped in Eden.
- Forecasts for NSW predict 150-200mm of rain and 100km/h winds, leading to significant travel disruptions and road closures.
Australia’s South Coast is once again under the shadow of severe weather, with flash flooding warnings escalating for New South Wales just as Victoria grapples with the devastating aftermath of what authorities describe as an ‘unprecedented’ downpour. The dual-front crisis highlights the increasing vulnerability of the continent to extreme and unpredictable weather patterns, a grim reality underscored by recent climate reports.
On Thursday, Victoria’s surf coast bore the brunt of an extraordinary deluge, witnessing rainfall totals that shattered previous records. The Wye, Kennett, and Cumberland rivers surged, transforming tranquil holiday spots into chaotic scenes of destruction. Emergency management commissioner Tim Wiebusch reported that approximately 20 cars were swept into the ocean, and popular campgrounds were submerged, leaving about 600 people temporarily displaced. Sixty individuals required emergency accommodation in Apollo Bay and Lorne, underscoring the rapid and overwhelming nature of the event.
Dharni Giri, a spokesperson for Victoria’s State Control Centre, emphasized the sheer scale of the weather event, noting that over 180 millimeters of rain fell in a mere six-hour period. ‘Because of the terrain where the rain fell, it accelerates the water flows down through the river systems coming off Mount Cowley,’ Giri explained. The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) confirmed that 186.2mm fell in the 24 hours leading up to 9 am, marking the highest single-day rainfall ever recorded at Lorne, significantly surpassing the previous record of 123.2mm set in 2021.
Despite the rapid onset of the disaster, authorities have defended the timeliness of their warnings. Giri stated that over 10,000 people in the affected area received text alerts advising them to move to higher ground, asserting, ‘in our eyes, warnings were not issued late.’ BoM forecaster Diana Eadie detailed how warnings were escalated dynamically: a severe thunderstorm warning was first issued at 11:57 am after 45mm of rain was recorded in one hour at Mount Cowley. By 12:40 pm, as rainfall rates continued to climb rapidly, the warning was upgraded to include intense rainfall with a high risk of flash flooding for the Surf Coast. Wiebusch added that the first triple zero call reporting flash flooding came at 1:08 pm, just 30 minutes after BoM’s upgraded warning, and calls about cars being washed away followed at 1:20 pm.
However, local officials have voiced concerns. Colac mayor Jason Schram questioned the predictive capabilities of the authorities, asking, ‘The big question I’ve got to those in charge is, how could they not predict 180 [millimetres] of rainfall in that catchment?’ He described the aftermath as ‘pretty messy, with mud, debris and, of course, everyone’s personal belongings, caravans, camping gear.’
The human toll, while thankfully limited in terms of fatalities, saw harrowing rescues. A child was airlifted to hospital after climbing onto a roof for safety, and Victoria Police rescued a man in his 60s from the roof of a shed at Cumberland River. Five hikers and two four-wheel-drive vehicles stuck west of Lorne were also brought to safety, testament to the swift actions of emergency services.
Adding to Victoria’s challenges, these floods occurred concurrently with ongoing bushfire activity. Wiebusch confirmed that approximately 10 major fires were still burning across the state, including in the Otways and Gippsland, though none were at emergency warning levels. Updated assessments revealed that over 1,000 structures, including 289 homes, had been damaged or destroyed by the fires. The combined impact of fires and floods left about 100 roads shut, requiring extensive clearing operations, including the vital route from Skenes Creek to Lorne.
As Victoria grapples with recovery, the focus now shifts to New South Wales, where severe weather warnings are firmly in place. The state’s SES responded to more than 274 incidents statewide in the 24 hours leading up to Friday afternoon, with the majority concentrated on the South Coast. In Eden, a town particularly hard hit, about 40 vehicles were trapped on the Princes Highway for three hours due to floodwaters and a fallen tree. Over 100 people were temporarily stranded at a golf club as surrounding areas became inundated.
Campgrounds along the NSW South Coast have been severely impacted, prompting urgent advice for travelers to reconsider their plans. Bea Bamford, manager of the Garden of Eden caravan park, had to evacuate campers from low-lying areas to safer cabins as the nearby river rose significantly, damaging park infrastructure. Sharon Fox, an incident controller from the NSW State Emergency Service (SES), issued a stark warning, urging campers in low-lying areas to leave immediately. Big Four Kiama caravan park also advised campers to prepare for emergencies and potential evacuations.
The BoM’s senior meteorologist Angus Hines warned of more flash flooding across southern NSW and Victoria in the coming days, with isolated falls of up to 200mm possible over three days, accompanied by storms. A severe weather warning remains active for Friday, extending from Wollongong down to the Victorian border, covering the South Coast and parts of the Illawarra. Hines predicted damaging wind gusts up to 100km/h and heavy, persistent rain, with the Illawarra and south coast of NSW potentially receiving between 150 and 200mm of rain from Thursday afternoon through Saturday night.
Such conditions are expected to cause significant disruption to travel and transport, including widespread road closures. Barry Griffiths from SES emphasized the importance of road safety, advising drivers to monitor conditions closely, ensure windshield wipers are functional, and pull over during heavy rain. The heavy rain pattern is projected to move slowly north, with the Illawarra and Sydney expected to bear the brunt on Saturday, followed by the Hunter region on Sunday. Campers and residents across these areas are strongly encouraged to prioritize safety as the severe weather continues its relentless march.
The recurring nature and intensity of these events echo warnings issued by the Insurance Council of Australia in October, which highlighted the climate crisis as a major factor making the country more vulnerable to extreme and unpredictable weather and natural disasters. Coupled with the World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) report that 2025 marked a three-year streak of ‘extraordinary global temperatures,’ averaging 1.48°C above pre-industrial levels, it becomes clear that Australia is navigating a new, more volatile climatic reality. The swift and collaborative response of emergency services, while commendable, underscores the urgent need for enhanced predictive capabilities and resilient infrastructure to mitigate the growing risks posed by a rapidly changing environment.