Published Resources Details
Journal Article
- Title
- The Snowy River flood of January, 1934
- In
- Commonwealth Engineer
- Imprint
- vol. 21, no. 8, Mar 1934, pp. 227-234
- Abstract
In January an unprecedented flood occurred in the Snowy river, in eastern Victoria, far exceeding in volume any flood previously recorded, the heaviest up to that time being in 1893.
As might be expected, the phenomenon caused a great deal of damage, the most serious of which, from an engineering point of view, was the destruction of a 120-ft. portion of the highway-railway bridge at Orbost, and the complete destruction of the superstructure and one pier of the recently completed Mackillop bridge. This article reviews the accepted theories and methods of computing flood discharges in the light of the data derived from observation of this flood, and indicates where modifications may be necessary. It describes the destruction of portion of the Orbost bridge and the construction of a temporary stiffened suspension bridge across the gap.
It also describes the destruction of the Mackillop steel truss bridge, and draws conclusions therefrom in regard to the use of electric welding in bridge construction.