On February 10, 2025, Harden-Murrumburrah was battered by a series of violent, destructive storms that left a trail of unprecedented devastation. Over the course of the morning, three distinct waves of storms swept through, with the most damaging hitting around 6:30 am.
In just 20 to 25 minutes, the town was pummelled by 20 centimetres of hail and over 100 millimetres of rain. The Bureau of Meteorology recorded 48mm in the half-hour to 6:27 am alone, contributing to a 24-hour total of 89mm. Locals described the hailstones as being the size of golf balls, some even star-shaped.
The main street was carpeted in a thick layer of ice. Front-end loaders had to be brought in to clear the slushy debris from the roads.
The structural damage was immense. Roofs were torn off buildings, windows were smashed, and ceilings collapsed under the weight of water and ice. In the immediate aftermath, the focus shifted to clean-up and support. The NSW Reconstruction Authority opened a Recovery Assistance Point at the Harden Country Club, offering legal advice, insurance help, and mental health support. With Supabarn extensively damaged, a shuttle bus service was even organised to take residents to Young for their essential shopping.
A critical milestone was reached just over a week later, on February 18, when the region was officially declared a natural disaster. This declaration unlocked much-needed financial assistance through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke, reflected on the disaster in Parliament last week, criticising the response and demanding better from the Government should this happen again.
“Reflecting on the past year, it is difficult not to wonder whether the response might have looked different had such an event occurred in a major regional centre or metropolitan area.
Here we have an entire community with severely damaged infrastructure and homes, yet many people in this chamber would be unfamiliar with the Harden-Murrumburrah hailstorm. These are the kinds of tragedies that can slip past in a fast-paced 24-hour media cycle and city focussed policy making,” she said.
“We know that recovery after a natural disaster can take months, even years. The stress and trauma experienced by those who live through such events do not disappear when the cameras leave. It is their port for incumbent upon all of us, members of this house, to keep our doors open, maintain strong lines of communication with communities in recovery and provide support in whatever form we can to ensure that their lives are rebuilt with pride and dignity.”
– Jack Murray
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