It comes after a severe weather warning was issued for the Hunter on Friday with thunderstorms producing damaging winds and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding.
"Scone has recorded 64mm, mostly associated with a thunderstorm earlier today," Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) senior meteorologist Agata Imielska said to Channel Nine.
Flooding at the back of Scone Race Club | Image courtesy of Scone Race Club
Flood waters forced Scone to be cut into two halves, with the closure of Liverpool Street in Scone from Aberdeen Street to the Satur Road roundabout. The Upper Hunter Shire Council said the roads were impassable for several hours due to flooding and there was no diversion possible, however easing conditions saw the reopening in early evening.
It is hoped that the rain will continue to ease and take the stress off anxious breeders who have been busy moving mares and foals to higher ground.
It's a long way from the devastating drought of 2017 to 2020, to which Arrowfield's Stud Manager Matt Hill can attest.
Matt Hill
“I’ve only lived here for five years but all the locals I’ve spoken to said it’s (flooding) as bad as they’ve ever seen it," said Hill.
“We’re fortunate that we’ve been able to move all of our stock to higher ground, but the river levels are very high and while there are portions of the farm that are cut off, we’re in good shape.
“We knew that it was coming, we always look up-river and anticipated that it would come down, although not as profusely as we thought but we were ready.
“I’ve touched base with neighbours, and they seem like they’re all in good shape."
Vinery Stud’s Adam White said the stud was in decent shape, given the magnitude of the deluge.
Adam White
“Things aren’t too bad here, there’s a lot of water but our property drains well, and we’ve only had to move a few mares and foals to higher ground which we were prepared for," Adam White said.
“There’s a lot of farms worse off than us because they’re not as undulating and we’re lucky we have river frontage, so the water can drain quickly back into it.”
“In my 20 years at Vinery, I’ve never seen it this bad before.”
The local breeding and racing community has rallied around, as it often does well in trying times, with Scone Race Club CEO Steven Keene offering local residents a refuge for horses, should it be required.
Steven Keene | Image courtesy of Scone Race Club
"It got as far up as around one metre off the edge of the back of the racetrack. Creeks have been turned into torrents where they're typically a trickle," said Keene.
"It's stopped raining for now and the creeks are starting to recede. I understand that the Glenbawn Dam is up around 75 per cent capacity now, which is good because at 100 per cent, the locals tell me that's when the real trouble starts."
While the flood warning is still in place for Scone, the forecast for the next 24 hours is for 10mm of rain and conditions look set to ease.
Social media responses
