The Sydney Morning Herald Headline; says; THE north-western town of Coonamble was yesterday bracing for a flood peak that might break its levee system, following a deluge in which 171 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours. Other parts of NSW and Victoria were cleaning up yesterday, in the wake of heavy downpours and storms late last week - and were assured by the Bureau of Meteorology that good weather was coming for Christmas Day.
There were even some signs of Christmas cheer from the chief executive of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Wendy Craik, who said the rains in NSW, Victoria and South Australia were "very positive".
But at Coonamble, on the Castlereagh River, the State Emergency Service was checking the levee system, after reinforcing of two areas on the weekend.
The river flowed through the town of Mendooran higher than predicted and farmers had to move stock to higher ground and shift pumps when it peaked at Gilgandra last night. As of yesterday, the peak was expected to reach Coonamble at 3pm today and be just below the top of the levee.
The Deputy Mayor of Coonamble, George Webb, said the Castlereagh flowed quickly and a lot of run-off had gone. But Warrana Creek had been full and if it still had a lot of water in it when the peak came, there "might be a problem".