After six weeks of rising flood waters, SES are pulling the trigger on evacuation orders for Walgett’s Namoi Village as the flood situation continues to worsen. 

While Walgett Town and Lightning Ridge are facing their own isolation, both Gingie and Namoi Villages have been completely cut off from supplies for days as river levels climb.

The NSW SES is now directing people in the following area(s) to EVACUATE BEFORE 4:00 pm Wednesday 9 November because essential services, in particular the sewage system, have been impacted by floodwater. 

SES Officer David Rankine said that crews and volunteers have been assisting with boat trips to help the locals get supplies and to local services running three times a day. 

“We haven’t had an empty boat in any of the runs that we’ve done. Our volunteers in that community are doing a wonderful job of supporting their own community members who are isolated outside of Walgett,” Mr Rankine said. 

With elevated houses in Namoi Village, a lot of locals have chosen to stay put as water surrounds them. Now, staying is becoming unviable. 

“The water level has gotten to a point where it has affected the sewerage infrastructure in that village,” Mr Rankine said. 

“We’re going to issue an evacuation order for tomorrow afternoon at 4pm. Some people will want to stay but if they want to evacuate, we’ll provide evacuation support and emergency accommodation,” he said. 

Residents will be relocated to emergency accommodation by welfare services if they choose to evacuate. The ferry services between Namoi Village and Walgett can be

accessed to assist with the evacuations.

The area in red above shows where the evacuation order applies. IMAGE Hazardwatch

With Walgett township also isolated, resupplying the whole town is no small feat, with 18 helicopters in the region to assist. 

“We flew in nearly 2000 loaves of bread yesterday and we’re doing daily resupply runs through not only the supermarket but also the hardware store,” Mr Rankine said. 

Pathology runs are also in place for people needing bloods tested and other various medical services. 

“The vast majority of our requests for assistance at the moment are support for resupply of both isolated graziers who are on their own properties and isolated, and also communities like Lightning Ridge and Collarenebri.”

With another deluge of water predicted for this weekend and flood peaks from upstream headed towards the Walgett area, Mr Rankine said that the severity of the flood conditions could continue until after Christmas. 

“Then it's got to make its way downstream to Brewarrina and Bourke…all the way down to the Murray River at Wentworth. As an organisation we will be managing that flooding probably around Easter,” Mr Rankine said. 

Instructions on what to do for a safe evacuation please check the Hazard Watch website.

The SES is urging anyone who needs supplies of food, medicine, dog food or fodder drops for isolated stock to call the SES on 132 500.

“It’s not a difficult process to get resupply, we will run you through the process of ordering groceries and having them delivered by helicopter or boat if it's applicable.”