''We will probably receive half to two-thirds of the annual rainfall in two weeks,'' said Mr Allen, who is a dairy farmer.

He is relieved for fellow farmers whose dams have been so dry and water cartage bills so high they were set to sell their cattle.

To the north, in Eurobodalla Shire, the sheep farmer and mayor Fergus Thomson is also ecstatic about the 350 millimetres his inland locality of Belowra has received this month when the whole of last year brought only 480 millimetres.

''The ground is warm and the grass is just going berserk, so it is fantastic. Every dam is full … We didn't have the feed to get through the winter. This has turned it around,'' he said.

His shire's controversial $32 million pipeline from the Moruya River to its storage dam is operating for the first time in the 13 months since its completion and the residents no longer face onerous level four water restrictions. The Tuross River mouth, closed for more than a year, trapping three dolphins in a fishing paradise, was excavated last Saturday week as local flooding hit Tuross Head. Surging waters have broadened the small man-made channel to a healthy 100 metres wide, according to the head of South Coast Tourism, Rob Pollock.

''So far the dolphins have not been inspired to leave their very non-competitive world,'' he said. But the rains have caused havoc for daily life, with many small communities cut off by flooded roads, including parts of the Princes Highway.

Many South Coast schoolchildren were sent home early yesterday, and in some cases parents cut off from towns had to find alternative accommodation for their children, Mr Pollock said.

As it rained steadily all day, with predictions of more to come, workers - including those from his council - fled towns before floods cut their route home, he said.

''It is interesting seeing fish racing out of creeks and estuaries that have been locked up for five to 10 years. There are probably some very big fish waiting to gobble them up. It's super exciting, except for watching your gravel drive float away,'' Mr Pollock said.