<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Before dawn on the day an enormous flash flood that flattened a rural village, emergency services feared the weather bureau's warnings were inadequate and rushed to issue evacuation orders.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A flood described by survivors as an "inland tsunami" razed much of the village of Eugowra, in central-western NSW, on the morning of November 14, 2022, killing locals Diane Smith, 60, and Ljubisa "Les" Vugec, 85.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A five-day inquest is examining the circumstances of their deaths, along with the lead-up to the flood, weather warnings and scale of the emergency response.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/gladstone-queensland-house-fire/f767b7b3-0dc0-42af-8a56-de66c3317c65" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>'Horrific': Woman, two children dead in house fire</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>NSW State Emergency Service zone commander Brigid Rice was woken by a call from colleagues before 3am that day as a rising river threatened the city of Bathurst and floods engulfed the villages of Molong and Canowindra.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There was a lot for me to be taking in," Rice told the inquest at Orange courthouse on Wednesday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the same time, Rice was keeping an eye on data from gauges at Toogong and Smithfield, upstream from Eugowra, alarmed that water rises were "almost vertical".</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/eugowra-flood-deaths-warnings-inquest-brigid-rice/e0b29f9b-d3de-4387-8445-2d306cdb657a" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was rising very quickly," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At 3.49am, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a flood warning for Mandagery Creek at Eugowra, saying it was likely to reach a major flood level of nine metres.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But having seen water levels of 8m at the upstream gauges, Rice knew from previous floods that 9.5m would be merely a "starting point" at Eugowra.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/triple-zero-power-outage-victoria-under-investigation/f2105778-45e9-4fca-9967-50a8da7b2f5b" target="_blank"><strong><span>Union hits out at triple zero outage amid 'delays' to new system</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said she felt the bureau's warnings were "inadequate" given the volume and velocity of water in brimming catchments after a night of heavy rainfall.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was of the firm view the nine-metre warning from the bureau would not be sufficient," she told the inquest.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The SES began preparing for a 10.5m flood, higher than the previous 1950 record that inundated 215 houses.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Knowing floodwaters generally took 12 hours to get from Toogong to Eugowra, Rice began preparing evacuation zone maps and emergency messaging.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At 6.12am a geo-targeted text message went out to Eugowra locals, telling people in low-lying areas to evacuate immediately.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The inquest has previously been told that the eastern side of Eugowra was generally considered "safe", based on previous floods, while the western side historically copped the brunt of floods.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/spider-man-outfit-found-at-beach-property-in-dunbogan-not-linked-to-missing-toddler-william-tyrrell/8227de78-cb93-4bb7-afa9-cde33bc91208" target="_blank"><strong><span>Spider-Man suit found at beach property near where William Tyrrell vanished not linked to investigation, police say</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Several witnesses have described people moving to a bridge in the centre of town, or to the eastern side in preparation for the flood, including Smith.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But after 9am, a sudden and destructive "wall of water" swept through much of the town damaging or destroying a majority of houses - including on the eastern side - and sparking more than 100 helicopter rescues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rice agreed that the SES evacuation message put the onus on Eugowra locals to self-identify as being in a low-lying area.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Since the flood, the western zone has changed the wording of its messages ensuring they are relevant to individual communities.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In some towns heights are really meaningful, other towns years are really meaningful, in other towns gauges are very meaningful," Rice said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The inquest continues before Deputy State Coroner David O'Neil.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a 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