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Rain record to be broken

RACHEL CURRY and TOM EDWARDSBusselton Dunsborough Times

Busselton residents battled through flooding this week as a deluge of rainfall levels smashed last year’s August total in just seven days.

Wednesday was the city’s wettest August day in three years with 39.4mm of rainfall and contributed to a total of 83.4mm for the month so far.

With more rain forecast and three quarters of the month to go, Busselton is on course to beat its long-term August average of 114.9mm for the first time since 2006.

A Flood Watch was in place for the Vasse catchment as the Times went to print yesterday, with several residents reporting flooding incidents.

Marian Marshall said on Wednesday long-held concerns about drainage at the Busselton Senior Citizens Centre carpark had come to fruition.

“The road into to it and the whole of the car park is a lake,” she said.

“There’s 700-odd members. At one stage in the week hundreds are going to be there. Where they’re going to park I don’t know.”

Yallingup Caves House Hotel owner Peter Cribb, who only took over the establishment this week, said the stream running through their grounds had burst its banks.

“It’s never flooded this big before, it’s quite huge. It actually flooded the grass, the whole area was almost underwater and the ghost trail (walking track) was underwater,” he said.

In Davies Way in Broadwater, resident Kathy Boucher said the street was nearly completely flooded; the worst she had seen in ten years living there.

She said some drivers were having difficulty getting to their houses.

“It’s not very comfortable living here and wondering if water’s going to come up into our houses. I don’t know if the drainage system can be improved or not,” she said.

City of Busselton engineering and works services director Oliver Darby said localised flooding of roadways during storm events was part of the overall drainage system.

He noted the region had typically low lying coastal planes and a high water table.

“While (flooding) may be inconvenient, it is an accepted method of drainage disposal,” he said.

“The areas of localised roadway flooding generally disperse quickly. However, factors such as the water table may delay the dispersal.”

For up-to-date flood warnings, visit www.dfes.wa.gov.au.

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