Teachers from Narromine and Wellington schools were evacuated yesterday, following reports of heavy rain and road closures in surrounding areas.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A number of students from remote parts of western NSW were also sent home after the SES released warnings about potential road dangers.
Wellington High School’s head of mathematics Don Green said he was one of the few remaining teachers at one of the town’s main high schools yesterday afternoon.
“Our principal and deputy principal went home, as well as about six other teachers,” he said.
“Additionally, around 35-40 students were collected by buses and transported home. Then there were were a number of students who couldn’t make it at all,” he said.
Mr Green attributed the evacuation to the threat of rising creek levels and possible overflow at the Bell River.
“We heard warnings on the radio about the Bell coming up and received SES notices,” he said.
“But it was actually the bus company who contacted the school.”
The mathematics teacher could not confirm whether students and teachers would be coming in today, but said anyone who lived on a dirt road or farm would likely be affected by the days of rain.
Both Mr Green and a Department of Education and Training (DET) spokeswoman said Narromine teachers and students were also evacuated due to yesterday’s mild flooding.
The DET spokeswoman said students from Narromine High School were brought home early by bus after parents were contacted about rain on the roads.
“If parents couldn’t be reached, students were taken to Orana Heights Public School,” she said.
“It was after students went home that staff left.”
According to the RTA, several roads within a 100km radius of Dubbo were closed or covered by water yesterday afternoon. There was flooding on the Newell Highway between Dubbo and Gilgandra, meanwhile the Golden Highway was closed between Dunedoo and Merriwa with half a metre of water over the causeway.
“The Newell Highway at Coolah was also closed to heavy vehicles,” the RTA spokesman said, which caused “significant problems”.
Heavy rain is expected for the next week or so and already a number of roads were closed in the Dubbo area on both Monday and Tuesday.
