Albany hit with flooding again following heavy rain on Monday morning, a month on from wettest day on record

Still recovering from the damage caused by its wettest day on record, Albany was hit with more heavy rain on Monday with the city subjected to further flooding and damage. Albany town centre recorded 73.8mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday with much of it falling in the early hours of Monday morning. Residents woke up to flooding, particularly through parts of Middleton Beach, and damage to roads and paths, with the Grey Street footpath in Mt Clarence caving in. “The most significant impacts appear to be concentrated within the town centre, including further damage of heritage drainage infrastructure along Grey Street and Melville Street,” City of Albany executive director infrastructure, development and environment Paul Cammins said. “There has also been additional erosion and path damage on the Mounts, with water flows depositing debris in several locations. “The city’s operations team is cleaning up after this latest event, while also progressing ongoing remediation and clean-up works related to the March flood event.” The heavy rain comes just over a month after the south coast township recorded its highest-ever single day of rainfall at 126.4mm on March 13. The flooding damaged schools and public facilities and parts of the city are still under repair. In March, City of Albany called on the State Government to declare the rare weather event a natural disaster so it could receive funding through Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements WA and help those worst affected in the community. “The cost of damage from the March flooding has not yet been finalised, as the city is still awaiting confirmation that the event will be declared an eligible natural disaster under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements WA,” executive director corporate and commercial services Matthew Gilfellon said. “Once that confirmation is received, the city will be able to commence further repair works and gain a clearer picture of the total cost. “To be eligible for assistance, the event must be in eligible expenditure exceeding $240,000 — the city is confident that threshold has been met.”