Heavy rainfall across Australia’s eastern states has forced the cancellation of the Byron Writers Festival and a warning for participants in Sunday’s City2Surf in Sydney to exercise caution. The region has experienced nearly double the average August rainfall over the course of just eight days, leading to these extreme measures.
Organizers of the festival expressed their disappointment, emphasizing it was a difficult but necessary decision due to the weather conditions that made it unsafe to continue with the event. The festival’s artistic director, Jessica Alice, said on the second day that “forecast conditions make it impossible to continue the event safely.”
This marks the second time the festival, which Guardian Australia is a partner in, has faced weather-related issues. In 2019, a day was cancelled due to severe weather conditions, and in 2022, the festival moved venues amid devastating flooding in the northern rivers region.
Despite taking measures such as ensuring proper drainage, creating safe pathways, and using sturdy marquees to mitigate the impact of weather, Alice pointed out the increasing urgency for event planners to prepare for extreme weather patterns. She noted that while rain is common in the northern rivers, the intensity and timing of the current weather is unusual.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, a surface trough off the coast of Queensland has been pushing moisture down the east coast, resulting in widespread rain and cloudy conditions from central-eastern Queensland through to the New South Wales coast. Several areas have already received more than their average monthly rainfall for August, with Sydney witnessing 140mm of rain and Newcastle 147mm as of 9am on Saturday.
Senior BOM meteorologist Jonathan How reported that Careys Creek in the Hunter region saw the highest rainfall in NSW at 255mm over the past week. In addition to the rainfall, there were hazardous surf warnings for the K’gari coast and Sunshine Coast Waters in Queensland, and a major flood warning remained for the Namoi River at Wee Waa, Bugilbone, and Goangra, although the rainfall and flooding were reported to be subsiding.
How advised participants in the City2Surf race to be prepared for a wet and chilly morning due to the weather conditions, cautioning that runoff could still pose risks as the rivers remain swollen.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/aug/09/byron-writers-festival-cancelled-east-coast-weather-rainfall-forecast-sydney-nsw-queensland
