It was a busy night for ACT Emergency Service workers and fire crews following last night's (Nov 3) heavy rain and electrical storm.  More than 30 people called for help, mostly because of flooding, calling out all seven emergency service authority crews.

All fire units were on the road too, inspecting buildings where automatic fire alarms had been triggered by the storm.  A spokesman for the authority said there were no serious incidents, but it was a comparatively hectic night.

In Gungahlin, the storm hit around 8.40pm and dumped 14mm of rain in just 15 minutes.  At one stage, the rain was falling at a rate of 155.7mm per hour!  Roads were awash, and gutters struggled to handle the volume of water.  There were some reports of water entering homes in Ngunnawal, but damage was minimal.

The latest storm added to an already wet start to November.  Rain has fallen on each day so far this month, with the total standing at 31.3mm, and there is more to come.  The good news is that rainfall prospects from now until the end of the year are looking more positive, as the La Nina weather pattern appears to be taking hold.  La Nina, basically the opposite of El Nino, generally creates conditions that are more favourable for above average rainfall.  Given this, Gungahlin is likely to receive around 65mm of rain during November, and December should also see good falls.

 

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