What schools are closed in Tasmania? Everything you need to know ...

1 Sep 2024

Tasmania has been hit by days of downpours, damaging winds and power outages, with residents in some communities now facing a flooding emergency.

Tasmania weather - Figure 1
Photo ABC News

An emergency flood warning was issued on Sunday evening for the Derwent River at Meadowbank to Macquarie Plains, as well as the Styx River from Bushy Park to Macquarie Plains.

Here's the latest information for how to navigate Tasmania's wild weather.

Is more rain and wind on the way?Where is the flooding?When will the power be restored?What schools are closed on Monday?What services are running?What roads are closed?What grants and other assistance are available?When will this be over?Is more rain and wind on the way?

View the latest weather bureau warnings for Tasmania.

Heavy rain is forecast across Tasmania on Sunday evening and into Monday morning as another cold front crosses the state.

This is forecast to be mostly on the west coast, as well as areas in the north-west, north and north-east that already have elevated river levels.

The extent of any flooding will be dependent on how much rain the overnight cold front brings.

It could then last several days for affected areas.

Southern parts of the state are not expected to experience as severe wind and rain on Sunday night, but the River Derwent at Meadowbank was at emergency flood warning level on Sunday night, with residents urged to evacuate.

The cold front on Sunday night will bring destructive winds to the north, north-west and west coast.

It follows Saturday night where some weather stations experienced their strongest gusts in decades, meaning some infrastructure and vegetation is already at risk of failure, and more widespread damage is expected.

Where is the flooding?

View the latest TasAlert warnings.

River Derwent

The most immediate risk of significant flooding is the River Derwent, downstream of the Meadowbank Dam.

This includes the localities and towns of Meadowbank, Glenora, Bushy Park, Gretna, Macquarie Plains and surrounds, with the Styx River also contributing to the flooding.

Tasmania weather - Figure 2
Photo ABC News

These areas have a flood emergency warning.

Floodwaters inundate a hop farm at Bushy Park, caused by flooding of the Derwent River on Sunday. (ABC News: Jano Gibson)

The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts major flooding will occur overnight on Sunday into Monday, persisting for several days, as well as in flooded tributaries.

New Norfolk could also be impacted, including inundation of low-lying areas, over the coming days.

Mersey River

The bureau is also closely monitoring the Mersey River from Kimberley to Latrobe.

Latrobe had a flood levee system built in recent years, including a temporary water storage area for local runoff to divert water away from the town centre.

The river has a watch and act warning.

Strahan and Macquarie Harbour

Warnings have been issued for abnormally high tides for the township of Strahan over the coming few days.

Macquarie Harbour and its streams and rivers are likely to experience flooding, threatening properties, livestock and crops, particularly in low-lying areas.

Meander River

A watch and act warning has been issued for the Meander River from Deloraine to Hadspen.

A property is inundated with water near Deloraine. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)

This includes the communities of Reedy Marsh, Westbury, Exton, Hagley, Selbourne, Carrick and Westwood.

Over the next 48 hours, low-lying properties could become isolated by floodwater from streams and the river.

Other areas of concern

The North Esk River from Corra Linn to Mowbray in Launceston could experience flooding over the coming days.

Other rivers in the north that have advice warnings for flooding are the Liffey River from Liffey to Carrick, the Macquarie River from Westmore to Chatswood, and the South Esk River, including Royal George, Avoca and Fingal.

In the south, there is a flood advice warning for the Huon River from Tahune Bridge to Judbury, and the Ouse River at Ouse.

Tasmania weather - Figure 3
Photo ABC News
When will power be restored?

View the latest TasNetworks outages.

On Sunday evening, TasNetworks was reporting about 17,000 customers — homes and businesses — were still without power, due to about 150 separate outages.

That's down from a peak of about 34,000 customers without power, and nearly 300 outages.

Trees over powerlines have caused most of the outages. (Facebook: Branxholm Fire Brigade)

All available crews, totalling 26, are in the field attempting to restore power, prioritising outages that are affecting the most customers, as well as those impacting vulnerable people.

Crews will work through Sunday night unless the weather makes it unsafe to do so.

The majority of outages have been caused by trees on powerlines.

TasNetworks chief executive officer Sean McGoldrick said it might take a while to restore power to everyone.

"It's going to take us a number of days to get everybody back, especially because it's hard to predict what's going to happen tonight [Sunday night]," he said.

What schools are closed on Monday?

Check the Department of Education alerts list for the latest public school closures.

As of Sunday night, three schools were listed for closure on Monday.

Glenora District SchoolSt James Catholic College, in CygnetSt Brigid's Catholic School, in New Norfolk.

Further schools could be added on Sunday evening and Monday morning, depending on the extent of storm damage across the state.

You can check which Catholic schools are closed via the Catholic Education Tasmania Facebook page.

What services are running?

Rural bus services could be affected on Monday morning. Check for updates on Facebook.

Flights at Tasmania's major airports were so far unaffected on Sunday.

Several of the Spirit of Tasmania's Sunday services were delayed into Monday. Check for the latest ferry updates.

What roads are closed?

Roads across the state are expected to be inundated on Sunday evening and Monday morning, leaving some areas isolated.

This map is updated regularly with road closures, represented by red lines.

What grants and other assistance are available?

Tasmanians in affected areas could be eligible for emergency assistance grants, which the government activated on Sunday afternoon.

People who have been impacted by floodwaters or isolated by road closures in the areas of Meadowbank, Glenora, Bushy Park, Gretna, Macquarie Plains, Maydena, Strathgordon and surrounds can apply for the grants.

The grant funds available are:

$250 per adult (18 years and over) $125 per dependent child (under 18 years) A maximum of $1,000 for any one family

You can apply online on the Department of Premier and Cabinet's community grants page.

For further help and information on support, people can visit the TasRECOVERY website.

Those needing telephone assistance can contact the Tasmanian Emergency Information Service on 1800 567 567.

When will this be over?

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting the wind and rain should ease by Tuesday, before another cold front crosses Tasmania later in the week.

The extent of that weather system will become clearer in the next few days.

Floodwater will likely remain for several days.

Stay up to date with Bureau of Meteorology warnings.

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