Residents stranded on roofs amid record floods
People are stranded on roofs amid major flooding in northern NSW as a slow-moving weather system dumps rain, causing a major river to rise to its highest level in almost 100 years.
Downpours are expected to continue on much of the NSW mid-north coast on Wednesday as the coastal trough slowly tracks north.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned it may cause flash flooding.
Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Taree, Kempsey, Sawtell, Dorrigo, Barrington Tops, Wingham and Yarrowitch are in line for more rain as rivers continue to rise.
By Wednesday morning, the river was flooding at a level “never seen before” at Taree, surpassing the 1929 record of six metres, the NSW State Emergency Service said.
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In nearby Glenthorne, local resident Jordan is among those stranded as they await rescue from flooded homes. She, her husband and their two-year-old son are stuck on the upper level of their home, with water just 600 millimetres below.
“We are awaiting a rescue and we have been waiting since 1am,” she told ABC TV on Wednesday morning.
“They said the only way to get us out at the moment is with a chopper and there aren’t any.
“We have seven neighbours next door. There is people from the street that are all in that house, that is about to go under water. If there is anything at all that can be done to support, that would be great.”
In the past 24 hours, the SES responded to 892 incidents, including 130 flood rescues, mostly in Glenthorne, Taree and Wingham.
The rescues included people from cars that had driven into floodwater. As the night progressed, many people reported rising water into their homes, the SES said.
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“Unfortunately, we’ve … had a large number of calls for help in areas that were subject to evacuation warnings and we are still assessing how best to access those locations,” state duty commander, Assistant Commissioner Colin Malone said on Wednesday.
Six-hourly rainfall totals between 100-140 millimetres were possible on Wednesday, the SES warned.
In the NSW Hunter region, the Myall River is among the areas on flood watch, with local residents warned to monitor forecasts and rainfall and be ready to move to higher ground.
For Ray, a cleaner at Bulahdelah’s Plough Inn Hotel, the rising river has already caused damage.
“My houseboat went,” he said.
“I was looking across the jetty [on Tuesday] morning and it wasn’t there.
“It’s the icing on the cake, [the weather] has been on and off for the past couple of weeks.”
The SES warned Buladelah residents to evacuate some areas on Tuesday afternoon.
Rain is expected to continue into the weekend amid the multiday flood event.
Taree copped more than 267 millimetres of rain across Monday and Tuesday, among some of the heaviest falls from the system.
