National
Extreme rain brings joy and destruction to drought-stricken town
A torrent of wet weather has pummeled the town of Stanthorpe in Queensland’s Southern Downs region, sweeping away roads.
The watery onslaught comes as the country’s east coast prepares for a week of raging weather and potential flooding amid record-breaking rainfall.
A year ago, the town was battling a dire drought, with water trucked in to aid struggling farmers.
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Now, residents are enjoying the rain, with one local filming her dalmatian leaping for joy through the rare floodwater.
But it’s not all good news, with more footage showing the destruction of a local road decimated by the rain.
The sheer volume of precipitation broke records, with close to one hundred millimetres dumped on the town overnight.
Locals have been warned to never drive, or walk through floodwater.
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https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1458690447451303937
Vic Pennisi, the Southern Downs Mayor, said the rain was a rare and welcome sight in the region.
“We’ve just come out of drought. We’re actually still drought declared to be quite honest,” Mr Pennisi said.
“We did have concerns in the early hours of this morning where we had to get a few sandbags out.”
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One Applethorpe local, Ronda Speranza, woke to find ankle-deep water filling her house.
Ms Speranza said in 40 years of living in the region, she’s never seen anything like it.
“Basically I just woke up in the middle of the night and stepped out of bed and stepped into water,” she said.
“The entire house, it’s a five-bedroom house and every room is flooded, the bottom of every wardrobe, every kitchen cupboard.
“Everything that could float was floating outside.”
Ms Speranza said she’s feeling shaken, and still waiting for electricity to return in her home.
The water also damaged her fruit shop next door, requiring all produce to be discarded.
“Obviously this is the worst that’s ever happened,” Ms Speranza said.
