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Gumma Rd and Riverside Drive are two clear casualties of the heavy weekend rains in the Nambucca Shire.
At Gumma a large, deep crack in the road pavement has traffic reduced to a single lane with traffic lights.
Shire mayor Rhonda Hoban said the crack was in the riverside lane and there were fears it could worsen if the lane were not closed.
“The crack is a significant problem … we have instability fears for that part of the road,” Rhonda said.
“There was also a slip on Riverside Dr, adjacent to one of the restored areas.
“The geotechnical reports said this stretch was the least unstable … I guess it goes to show Mother Nature does not read reports!”
Rhonda said Shelly Beach Rd, renowned for its instability, was also closed.
“There has been one slip and we are always wary that more could come due to the saturation of the soil. Slippages are always possible in the days after such a major rain event.
“There are a lot of trees down across the shire and also major losses of gravel sheeting from unsealed rural roads.”
Browns Crossing remains closed.
She said council staff were still assessing the damage but believed the $250,000 minimum required to make a Natural Disaster Funding request to the State Government would more than likely be met.
The SES was kept busy over the weekend with 30 jobs registered between Friday and Sunday.
Local controller Peter Shales said most of the work was roof tarping over leaking sections and broken skylights.
“Nambucca and Macksville were the worst affected with two jobs in Bowraville,” Peter said.
“We had excellent support from a Lake Macquarie crew as well as two swift water rescue guys from Hornsby – luckily no such rescues were required however there were numerous reports of people ignoring road closures and driving through flood waters.
“I cannot stress enough how dangerous it is because you just don’t know what debris is under the surface or if the road or bridge is actually still there!
“The basic rule is simple” if its flooded, forget it (driving through it).”
The weather forecast for the rest of today is for continuing showers with the chance of thunderstorms and possible heavy falls. Daytime maximum temperatures will be between 24 to 29.
The Bureau of Meteorology said showery conditions will continue for much of the week due to a high pressure system over the southern Tasman Sea and a trough of low pressure over the northern inland moving slowly west.
A second trough over South Australia is moving east and expected to pass through New South Wales from Tuesday to Thursday.