NSW floods: Hawkesbury peaks causing inundation at Wisemans Ferry
A dump of rain has flooded the streets of Wisemans Ferry, sparking immense overflow on riverbank properties and cutting off residents from town.
NSW
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A dump of rain has flooded the streets of Wisemans Ferry, causing immense overflow on riverbank properties and cutting off residents from town.
Hawkesbury River water levels peaked at 4m on Monday morning and are expected to rise later at 2pm to 4.5m at high tide, surpassing the 4.2m levels from last year.
Floodwaters inundated the cabins at Riverside Park, forcing permanent residents to evacuate and reach high ground.
Owner Danielle Deaves said her and her husband had just finished cleaning up and renovating parts of the park since last years floods in March.
“After the last flood, we fit out at home thinking this type of flood wouldn’t happen again,” she said.
“It’s heartbreaking. It’s inundated all the cabins. Everyone was bracing for it. My husband got down and got the boats and jetskis out last weekend.
“For the last five to six days we’ve been on tenterhooks.”
Ms Deaves said not many tourists were around the area due to the large scale devastation that the floods had caused across the state.
However, she said that March was normally a busy time for tourists at Wisemans Ferry and they had just finished preparing the park to welcome back customers.
“It took the park almost a year to get back to normal. We just put the last piece of the puzzle together,” she said.
“It’s crazy. Before the last flood, I never would’ve dreamt this would’ve happened.”
A team of volunteers were busy bundling up food packages at Wisemans Ferry Bowling Club with tinned goods, pantry staples and fresh bread to distribute to stranded residents.
The SES was zipping around the floodwaters dropping off the essential parcels to people living on the riverfront who couldn’t exit from the street.
Local elderly volunteer Noelene Hitchcock said the packing operation at the club was “full on”.
There were several local community groups, including the Sikh community and Uniting Church, contributing edible donations.
“We pack the food up in boxes and the SES hands them out,” she said.
“There’s more (food) today than yesterday. It’s full on.”
Another local volunteer Cathy Seymour was helping pack and organise the food at the club.
She had been out until 10pm answering calls on the SES phones lines at the Homebush headquarters the night before.
“We were getting calls from people who live here (in the Wisemans Ferry area),” she said.
“I got up this morning and started again (packing food).”
Ms Seymour said the team had learnt from last years flood response on how to efficiently pack food and take into account what each household really needed.
“We get an order and then pack it. Sometimes, we can only get to them by boat or helicopter. Sometimes the river is so high that the SES can’t get under the bridge,” she said.
“People come in four-wheel drives asking for food for their neighbours whose cars might be too small to get here.
“Sometimes we meet people on the bridge.
“We’ve learnt on the run since last year.”
It comes as members of the SES will be protected from being unfairly fired if they miss work to join the flood rescue and recovery effort under employment protections introduced by Premier Dominic Perrottet.
Volunteers have led the rescue and recovery effort in the state’s north and Mr Perrottet said the provision will bar any employer from unjustly firing them or changing their position.
“The volunteer response in this flood emergency has been nothing short of amazing – everyone who has put their own lives on hold to help others during these floods has been a true hero,” Mr Perrottet said.
“I think the heartfelt thanks and gratitude around the state for these volunteers would suggest that very few employers would take any negative action against their employees who are volunteering.
“I hope this employment provision can give some comfort and security to volunteers who now know that their regular jobs are safe.”
The order, brought in for at least the next 14 days under the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989, will mean that employers who take negative actions towards volunteers could face fines or be told to reinstate the dismissed employees.
Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said volunteers should know that the government “have your back”.
“Please know we have your back. You have all done an incredible job, working long days to help our State through this crisis. As your Minister, I back you in all the way and our government does as well,” Ms Cooke said.
DOM SAYS SORRY TO NORTHERN RIVERS
The NSW Premier has apologised to Northern Rivers flood victims following accusations their communities feel abandoned and unsupported.
Dominic Perrottet said on Monday he was “very sorry” the effort to bring in support to devastated towns and villages was taking so long, following widespread reports from locals of food, fuel and power shortages in the flood-stricken area.
But the Premier told Channel 9 the NSW government was “doing everything we can” to fix the situation.
“(We‘re) very sorry, but we’re doing everything that we can,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We‘re getting supplies in, we’re getting food in … some of those areas will look back at this and say it could have been done better but we are where we are right now and we’re doing absolutely everything we can to provide care and support for those who need it, to get those essential supplies in.”
The Premier acknowledged residents were feeling “a lot of anger and frustration” but claimed it was “hard” to say what he would have done differently.
He claimed the weather itself had stalled plans for aid sooner, and that it would be “all hands on deck” from here on out.
“I completely appreciate the pain, the anguish for people up here. It’s a really challenging time,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Earlier on in the week, well, last week, we had issues getting aircraft into the sky, just because of the dangerous conditions that were there.
“There are logistical difficulties with all of this but it is all hands on deck to get the clean-up done, to get supplies in and that’s happening right now.”
He added: “We‘re going to be working day and night, for weeks and months, and years ahead.”
The Premier told Channel 7 the focus would be on the clean-up effort and creating emergency housing following more than 2000 homes being deemed uninhabitable in the area, and that mental health support, compensation and other services would follow.
He said he was “committed” to investigating what went wrong in the emergency response and how to implement further flood mitigation strategies.
“There will need to be a review in relation to ensuring that is doesn’t happen again. I don’t want anyone, regardless of how unprecedented a flood or fire is, to ever feel like that,” Mr Perrottet said.
“There is no doubt that there will be an honest assessment of even the most unpredicted catastrophe, what resources are there to provide that immediate support to keep people safe, and I’m completely committed to do that.”
NSW has copped another dumping of rain as leftover catchment water comes close to reflooding in embattled communities.
The state’s SES deputy commissioner Daniel Austin said impacted residents weren’t out of the woods yet, as some levees again reach breaking point.
“We are watching, I guess with some kind of bated breath, of what this next east coast low brings an exactly where that forms off the coast,” he told Nine’s Today.
“The catchments are reacting and I would expect throughout today that you will see another batch of warnings and evacuation orders potentially for a number of catchments. We are watching exceptionally closely a number of catchments that are going to come very close to potentially tops of levees.”
Exhausted Lismore residents – already reeling after being thumped by record floods – are bracing for even more rain and potential flooding after heavy showers began to lash the area.
A menacing storm rolled into northern NSW late on Sunday – ripping up roofing and snapping tree branches – as the Bureau of Meteorology warned predicted rainfalls of up to 25mm could lead to flash flooding on Monday.
Traffic was brought to a standstill in Lismore when the rain first hit and police were deployed to a cliff fall rescue.
Lismore mayor Steve Krieg told The Daily Telegraph that locals had the grit to withstand another battering after the week they have just had.
“We’re tough, we’re country people and we just get on with things and get things done,” he said.
“We certainly don’t need another 50 or 100mm of rain at this stage.”
Meanwhile, families in smaller towns in the area such as Bungawalbin, Ellangowan and Whiporie could be isolated for at least another two weeks as large swathes of floodwater remain covering paddocks.
NSW Premier Dom Perrottet visited hard-hit Coraki to speak to locals on Sunday after he revealed an extra 900 ADF personnel were being deployed amid anger from some locals who say they feel overlooked.
Dramatic rescues, devastation: Northern NSW floods in photos
Mr Perrottet said more people in uniform were hitting the ground.
“We’re on the ground, we’ve got the ADF in, the RFS, it’s going to be a tough journey, but we’re going to get it done,” he said.
“(It’s) incredibly pleasing for me to see the RFS in here, driving through Lismore and seeing more boots on the ground … it certainly fills me with confidence.
“This is a mammoth task ahead, these towns are like war zones and it’s going to take every effort right across government, community organisations and council to get these communities back on their feet as quickly as possible. We’re not going to stop until we do that.”
Coraki parents Daniel Clark and Nancy Grimm, who are both SES volunteers, returned to their gutted home with The Daily Telegraph on Sunday in a moving visit to see the damage first-hand.
Ms Grimm, who broke down upon arriving, said her family’s lives were the most important thing to her.
“We’ve got all we need, we got our family out, we got our pets out, we got our passports,” she said.
Ms Grimm also managed to salvage her treasured wedding dress, which had been put up high in the house. Everything else had been destroyed.
Mr Clark, who manned a punt to rescue about 100 people when the floods hit with the help of a civilian, said he was always going to get back out and work with the SES despite losing everything.
“It’s the right thing to do, it’s not about money, it’s not about getting payment for everything, it’s about community and building everyone up,” he said.
“I don’t really have anywhere else to go really … it’s a good way to connect with the community, I’m not being cheesy, it really is.”
He said it was surreal visiting his house and seeing the damage after his hectic week.
“It really is just unbelievable, it’s a different world,” he said.
”I’d heard about floods like this, but this exceeded that. You look inside and everything is upside down.”
The centre of Coraki looks as if a missile has torn through it.
People remain camping in tents along street sides and a lone cow ended up in a suburban front yard amid the chaos.
Disability support worker Linda Hawke, 43, said living in a tent for a week had been “feral” after her house was inundated.
“It’s not fun, you lay on this and you feel your bones are breaking, it’s horrible,” she said.
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Originally published as NSW floods: Hawkesbury peaks causing inundation at Wisemans Ferry
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