A Melbourne rain bomb hit the city on Friday night after nearly an entire week of delightful sun. Tram tracks were turned into canals and footpaths became gushing urban rivers right before our very eyes. Mother nature can truly be a cruel mistress.
In several videos posted to TikTok and Twitter, Melburnians could be seen jumping over two-metre puddles, driving through soaked underpasses and just being generally sodden.
‘Twas a big no from us.
Lightning touching down over Port Phillip Bay and Melbourne being lit up last night ⛈️ #melbourneweather @BOM_Vic @SciNate @VicStormChasers pic.twitter.com/vupaKgv2Ut
— Connor Rate (@connorrate1) October 21, 2022
@bradmorrison94 Peer pressure is a wonderful thing 🫣 #fyp #foryou #ytg #slide #foryourpage #funny #viral #melbourne
@retiredfilmdirector Elizabeth street #melbourneflood #flood #fridaynight #matthewvictorpastor
@leighroyyyy #floods #melbourne #rain #youcantparkthere #viral #fyp #floodwater #oops
@francescaa.sulfaro Just a bit of rain @Libba #melbourne #aussiethings #melbourneaustralia
Breaking- 6 hours of continuous rain and no sign of stopping. That’s Melbourne! Add the wind. See the MCG at the background! Sorry state of affairs. @RevSportz pic.twitter.com/cMNxrmKJR3
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) October 21, 2022
Some of the current anxiety around this latest batch of Melbourne rain is due to the India vs Pakistan Cricket World Cup match set to be played at 7pm on Sunday.
All 100,000+ tickets to the game at the MCG sold out in five seconds when they initially went on sale as per The Roar.
Now, cricket fans will be hoping the skies clear up in time to watch two of cricket’s biggest rivals face off.
More rain is also expected right up the east coast of Australia.
The Murray River which forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales is expected to experience its highest flood since 1993 as per the ABC.
The border town of Echuca will likely remain protected by its 2.5-kilometre levee but will still need to pump water out of the town after heavy rainfall within the levee’s boundaries.
“There are outlying areas to the east of Moama that are already inundated, and they always would be in a flood of this sort. But the expectation is that it will hold for a majority of the town,” Murray River Mayor Chris Bilkey said.
The Gold Coast is also expecting to receive a massive downpour with the potential for flash flooding across the city.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate authorities would “monitor this closely and if it means that our disaster management unit will meet multiple times then we will do so,” as per the ABC.
“La Niña is here as predicted, third year in a row.”
Anyone in need of assistance due to the Melbourne rain or storms anywhere else in Australia is urged to contact their local State Emergency Service (SES).
