Heavy traffic hampering those trying to move animals and get possessions from caravan and ski parks

Calls for residents to keep off the roads unless your trip is essential

There are concerns as the flood crisis builds that heavy traffic around the Windsor area is seriously impacting those who have been told by the SES to get possessions from flood-threatened caravan and ski parks, plus those moving animals to higher ground.

But the issue may be partly solved with Wilberforce Rd at Buttsworth Creek only half a metre of water height from being closed.

Ex-Hawkesbury councillor Emma-Jane Garrow whose family live on the flood-prone Peninsular at Windsor, says, “I have had messages from caravan parks trying to evacuate and roads are blocked and they can not get out. Farmers trying to get trucks across to relocate livestock are stuck also.

“The river is rising faster than we have seen before. Please stay off the roads if you can.”

Macquarie MP Susan Templeman has been at Windsor this morning and she told us, “the water is rising very quickly and people at Windsor are commenting on how fast it is and the only person who told me they’d seen it this fast went back to 1978.

“So that tells me that what I’m seeing with the water rising fast is probably the case.

“What we’re also seeing at Windsor is the bridge is just chocker-block coming from Wilberforce and Freemans Reach and I’m getting reports of very long delays across there, so really the message is if you have to travel and get across to the Windsor side, do that but please only do what is essential.

“People are now being asked to leave caravan parks, those who have possessions at ski-parks are being asked to come and remove their possessions so there is a lot of really important movement that needs to happen and I think it seems the time for that to occur is a fairly small window.”

Meanwhile, the two main evacuation centres either side of the Hawkesbury river are now open.

North Richmond Community Centre – 33 William Street, North Richmond

Richmond Club – 6 East Market Street, Richmond.

Thanks to Paul Caleo for the video