A major outback rail line has been closed after heavy rain and flash flooding in South Australia’s north washed away significant sections of track, the network’s manager says.
Downpours have also triggered road closures, with more than a dozen people becoming stranded Sunday morning when the water level rose rapidly in an outback creek.
The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) said it was forced to close the East West rail line because of “track washaways of up to 100 metres in some locations” between McLeay and Bookaloo, north-west of Port Augusta.
The line, also known as the Trans-Australian Railway, is a major freight route that connects Perth with Adelaide and the eastern states, and is also used by the Indian-Pacific.
The ARTC said the line was expected to be out of action for at least a week.
“ARTC crews are currently inspecting the network between Crystal Brook and Broken Hill as well as Port Augusta to Whyalla to determine the full extent of the damage,” the corporation said in a statement.
“While the damage assessments are underway, a return to service timeframe has not yet been confirmed.Â
“Based on current conditions, restoration is expected to take longer than seven days.”
ARTC said further forecast deluges later this week could cause more damage, including to the Broken Hill section of track.
“In preparation for recovery works, ARTC has mobilised crews and pre-positioned materials and equipment along the corridor to support rebuilding of the track,” it said.
Parts of SA’s north have been inundated. (Supplied: Almerta Station)
The wet weather has been caused by a tropical low, with the bureau earlier reporting that Port Augusta received 48 millimetres in just six hours.
“That’s the most rainfall they’ve seen on a single day in the last four years,” the bureau’s Daniel Sherwin-Simpson said.
The SES said the heavy rain in the region had caused road closures north of Port Augusta, and around Hawker and Quorn in the Flinders Ranges.
State duty officer Craig Brassington said swift water rescue teams and a helicopter based in Roxby Downs were ready to respond, and that there had already been a stranding near Quorn.
“Fifteen people got trapped just recently this morning — the creek level rose pretty quick, they got caught,” he said.
“They’re all healthy and fine. They just couldn’t cross the creek getting back down into Quorn.
“The river has now dropped down enough that they’ve managed to head south.”
Warnings against travel
The SES said conditions could ease tomorrow before intensifying again on Tuesday and over the next few days.
“We’re asking people not to travel in these areas for basically the next week. This low will stay around the far north of South Australia,” Mr Brassington said.
“We don’t want people getting trapped in these areas because it might be 24, 48 hours before they could get out of there.”
The State Emergency Service is urging people to avoid outback roads impacted by flooding. (Supplied: Ben Hennessy)
Mr Brassington said the SES had already responded to about 18 requests for assistance, including for minor flooding, around Port Augusta, Port Pirie and Whyalla.
The bureau said conditions were currently “very humid all around the state”, while a tropical air mass was leading to showers in the northern and eastern parts of the state.
“[There’s] quite a lot of rainfall moving through there and we’re expecting more to come through the northern parts of the state as well as the eastern parts of the state,” Mr Sherwin-Simpson said.
“So for some people this is very welcome rainfall where there’s been particularly drought-affected areas.
“But with those heavier totals we can see flash flooding cropping up so anywhere that you see that severe thunderstorm warning that’s something to watch out for flash flooding.”
Farmer delighted by downpour
The rain has been music to the ears of some regional residents, including Loxton farmer Tom Fielke, who said that as of early Sunday afternoon he had received about 19mm.
“If it keeps raining we may have a season this year. The last two years haven’t been too flash on the north-eastern side of Loxton,” he said.
“We really need a good year this year. Last year we ended up with 125mm for the year, so that’s half our average.”
Tom Fielke says he received about 19 millimetres of rain by Sunday afternoon. (ABC News: Will Hunter)
Mr Sherwin-Simpson said the rain was expected to continue up through the Flinders and then move into the state’s north-east.
He said rainfall in excess of 200mm in some parts of the far north may be seen by the end of Friday.
“So very significant rainfall for the far north of the state and it’s going to keep coming in day after day after day,” he said.
“It’s not out of the question we see local communities up there such as Moomba, Innamincka, Oodnadatta, places along the Birdsville Track, being cut off just due to floodwaters through the creeks and waterways up there.”
Mr Sherwin-Simpson said it was a “very significant rainfall event” that could cause the highest falls some spots had “seen in decades”.