Sydney – Brace Yourself For La Nina Floods!
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) announced that wet weather conditions – known as La Nina – are in store for Sydney this summer.
So what does this have to do with the plumbing of your home?
Weather patterns should be something to be curious about as a home owner. The impact of weather patterns can affect your home and possibly cause damage. Understanding how your home will fare against such weather conditions is important. When it comes to La Nina, Sydney properties can be protected with the right preparation.
Let’s explore what a La Nina is and how you can protect your home from the weather events experienced during this season.
What is La Nina?
La Nina is a Spanish term, yet it’s used to refer to extreme weather conditions which include maximum summer temperatures and heavier rainfall.
In Australia, BOM advises that La Nina typically means:
- An increase in rainfall across Australia
- South of the tropics experience cooler weather
- North experiences warmer overnight temperatures
- Temperature extremes shift to maximum degrees
- Increase in tropical cyclone numbers
- Onset of monsoon earlier in summer.
A La Nina can last up to 6 months in the year, starting late spring through to early autumn. In fact, BOM announced a La Nina was underway in Australia on 23 November 2021.
The La Nina Sydney is experiencing this summer can bring with it heavy rainfall resulting in widespread flooding.
While it can be rare to experience cyclones in Sydney, heavy rainfall events can cause flooding, triggering water damage to homes in a short amount of time. Here are some tips to protect your home from La Nina conditions.
Protect your home from La Nina, Sydney!
The outdoor plumbing to your home plays an important part in protecting your property from heavy rainfall. Stormwater drainage needs to be sufficient to remove rainfall away from your home when it falls.
During heavy downpours or ongoing rain events, the stormwater drainage is put to the test and sometimes, it’s not always up for the challenge to channel a high influx of water away from your home.
It’s vital to ensure that:
- gutters are clear of debris
- downpipes aren’t blocked and are clear to carry heavy downpours away from your roof and gutters
- adequate stormwater grates and channels like aggie pipes are installed for stormwater drainage
- the roof is in excellent condition and is free from broken tiles or rusted corrugated sheets which can allow water ingress.
How your plumber can help prepare your home for future downpours
The most common reason for outdoor flooding is due to inadequate stormwater drainage around the home.
When a heavy downpour occurs, if the water can’t be directed to the stormwater drainage, it will accumulate around the property. This is not ideal and can cause significant water damage.
The best way to prevent an outdoor flood situation is to organise a plumber to inspect your property and design a stormwater drainage system to suit the topography and roof surface area of your home.
Maintaining the existing stormwater drainage is also important and this can be done using drain cleaning machines to ensure down pipes are free of blockages.
If you’re concerned the stormwater drainage at your property is inadequate or you find that water pools around your home easily during a downpour, it’s time to call a plumber!
