SES at the ready after busy weekend - The Northern Star

FOLLOWING a relatively busy weekend, Richmond/Tweed SES will remain alert as more thunderstorms threaten to hit the Northern Rivers.

Duty Officer Bob Warren said: "There's a heightened potential for thunderstorms, but not as much rain. Wind will be a major component."

Between Saturday and Sunday Lismore received 53.4ml of rain and 10.8ml fell this morning, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Mr Warren said the Wilsons River, which passes through Lismore, would be the first river to cause problems if more rain hits the region.

"There's some potential for flooding in the area, but you'd need 15-20ml (of rain) an hour for a couple of hours," Mr Warren said.

"For flash flooding we'd need about 60ml in under an hour.

"If the rain was to keep up and we get flooding anywhere, Lismore would be the first.

"Around the Wilson is probably the highest risk area, along with Murwillumbah."

Mr Warren said the Northern Rivers might have faced a sorry situation if our catchments weren't as forgiving.

"The catchments around here empty pretty quickly and geographically they can hold a fair bit of water. Some go right out to sea," he said.

Over the weekend Richmond/Tweed SES attended 56 jobs, largely focused on falling trees and water into homes.

"It's quite busy for a little region," Mr Warren said.

As of 10am on Monday morning all jobs had been attended to.

The bureau forecasts storms for today and Saturday, with showers occurring until Sunday.

View article here...