Mayor of Bega Valley says there will be big claims needed to cover the flood damage

He said council crews had been out overnight and were out again this morning, Thursday, November 30, trying to assess the damage.

At this stage the full extent of damage throughout the shire is unknown although there have been a number of social media posts.

"I'm aware one wooden bridge at Wandella, West Cobargo, has been washed away and there is a lot of road damage," Cr Fitzpatrick said.

"A lot of the damage will be on the approaches to bridges where debris has built up on the bridge and caused the water to flow around the road approaches," he explained.

He is worried about Six Mile Bridge on the Mount Darragh Road which has been the subject of recent roadworks.

"There is also Wallaga Lake Bridge that is underwater but that is a state problem."

On Thursday morning Cr Fitzpatrick was also concerned about how the Princes Highway at South Pambula would fare with the high tide at Pambula due before midday.

One lane was closed on Wednesday evening due to flooding. Cr Fitzpatrick said he was amazed at how much water was sitting on the eastern side of the highway and how it had spread around the Pambula River flats.

He is concerned that river siltation is creating more problems during times of heavy rain.

"In the 1971/72 floods we had 900mm of rain in Bega and the river peaked at 9metres and we had flooding.

"This time we have only a third of that rain at 300mm and the river peaked at 6.5metres and flooded," he said.

He said the siltation was created by flood waters but "years ago we used to get rid of it but now we don't".

IN OTHER NEWS:

In Nethercote the new bridge at the Yowaka on Nethercote Road has held but was under water on Thursday morning with a lot of debris piled up against it. Unfortunately it looks as though the approach on the southern side has been damaged but the flood waters roaring over it.

Work on Nethercote Road to direct Centipede Creek under the road looks as though it has held but the water did come around the road bringing with it a lot of debris.

School buses were not able to reach many parts of Nethercote with parents being advised to get students to either Eden or the Princes Highway if they were able.

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