Vinnies has been helping Australians in crisis for nearly 140 years, and to supply evacuees with food, clothing, household goods, and longer-term recovery, it has launched the NSW Flood Appeal.
All donations will go towards assisting people and communities directly impacted by the floods.
Vinnies has a network of members living in these areas, across the state, who are ready to provide people with practical assistance and emotional support.
In order to supply this aid, Vinnies relies on the generosity of its donors.
Donations to the Vinnies NSW Flood Appeal can be made by calling 13 18 12, at http://www.vinnies.org.au/NSWFloodAppeal or at any Vinnies Shop.
NSW floods live updates: Hawkesbury, Windsor, Colo warnings
A 25-year-old Pakistani man has been the first fatality of the flood disaster after driving into deep water in northwest Sydney while on the way to his first day of a new job.
A Pakistani man has been the first fatality of the flood disaster after driving into deep water while on the way to his first day of a new job.
The 25-year-old construction worker called Triple-0 about 6.20am after his hire car became submerged on Cattai Ridge Rd at Glenorie.
He spent close to 45 minutes on the phone to an emergency operator while also trying frantically to escape the car as the water rose around him.
A police search for the submerged car was soon initiated, with police divers finally discovering his man’s body about 1.10pm.
NSW Police Inspector Chris Laird said the man’s long phone call and struggle to get out of the car in the lead up to his death was absolutely "tragic".
"What more can you say, what’s happened is a complete tragedy," Insp Laird said.
"He is a Pakistani national but he has been here for a while and has strong community ties. His friends in Australia are absolute devastated."
The man was driving a Toyota Camry hire car on his way to his new construction job.
Insp Laird said police will also be investigating if the man failed to see a number of "road closed" signs before driving into the water.
"We can only speculate he may not have known the area as locals would and that as it was 6.20am he may not have seen the water," he said.
"The male was driving a brand new hire car and initial we can only speculate as to why he couldn’t get out of the car."
A report will now be prepared for the coroner.
Follow our live blog below.
⚠‼FLOOD EVACUATION ORDER LOW LYING AREAS OF ULMARRA‼⚠‼Evacuate by 8:00 pm MORE:https://t.co/FZooFaii4k pic.twitter.com/rwm8ZzCxHO
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) March 24, 2021
Updates
How to help flood victims
Premier confirms man's death in flood
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced a person has been killed in flood waters.
“Unfortunately we have received news of a fatality in the north west of Sydney flood waters,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian told Question Time.
“Because it’s early stages I will allow emergency services to comment at the appropriate time to ensure arrangements have been made with next of kin.”
She reiterated that the situation remained gravely dangerous in flood waters and urged people to take care.
Latest road closures
Some roads in regional parts of NSW have reopened but many others remain closed due to flooding.
Motorists and public transport passengers in flood-affected areas of the state are still advised to avoid non-essential travel.
Public transport passengers who need to travel are also advised to allow plenty of extra travel time and take extreme care.
NSW North:
Between Narrabri and the Queensland border – the Newell Highway is closed
Lyra (Queensland) – the New England Highway has reopened so motorists can now drive from New South Wales into Queensland
Between Moree and the Queensland border – the Carnarvon Highway is closed
The Gwydir Highway is closed east of Moree at Biniguy, and about 30km west of Moree near Mallawa Road
In South Tamworth – the New England Highway has reopened between Goonoo Goonoo Road and Marius Street (Oxley Highway)
In Myrtle Creek – Summerland Way is closed at Elliotts Road
Between Glenthorne and Taree – Manning River Drive is closed over the Martin Bridge
Between Walcha and Gloucester – Thunderbolts Way is closed
At Krambach – The Bucketts Way has reopened
At Failford – Failford Road is closed between Bullocky Way and The Lakes Way
Walcha to Yarras – the Oxley Highway is closed in both directions
Between Tyndale and Grafton – Big River Way is closed in both directions
At Macksville – Giinagay Way is closed between Wedgewood Drive and Upper Warrell Creek Road
Between Thora and Dorrigo Mountain – Waterfall Way is closed
At Corindi Beach – Solitary Islands Way is closed between Blackadder Road and Coral Street
Hunter/Central Coast:
Roads
Between Cliftleigh and Gillieston Heights – Main Road/Cessnock Road is closed between Avery Lane and Russell Street
Between Nelson Bay and Anna Bay – Nelson Bay Road is closed between Salamander Way and Frost Road
Public Transport
On the Central Coast & Newcastle Line – buses are replacing trains between Newcastle Interchange and Fassifern due to flooding at Cockle Creek.
On the Hunter Line – buses are replacing trains between Newcastle Interchange, Maitland and Dungog/Scone due to flooding
Sydney's North West and West:
Roads
Between Bell and Mount Tomah – Bells Line of Road is closed in both directions
At Windsor:
Windsor Bridge is closed between Macquarie Street and Wilberforce Road
Windsor Road is closed between Pitt Town Road and Court Street
Macquarie Street is closed between Brabyn Street and Bell Street
At North Richmond – North Richmond Bridge is closed
At Yarramundi – Yarramundi Bridge is closed
At Colo – Colo River Bridge is open to vehicles up to 15 tonnes
Hawkesbury Valley Way is closed between Moses Street and just west of Percival Street in Clarendon, and between Macquarie Street and Day Street in Windsor
At Pitt Town – Pitt Town Road is closed between Saunders Road and Glebe Road
At Riverstone – Garfield Road West is closed between West Parade and Carnarvon Road
At Wilberforce – Wilberforce Road is closed between Freemans Reach Road and Rose Street
Between Cattai and South Maroota – Wisemans Ferry Road is closed across the Cattai Creek Bridge between Mitchell Park Road and Sackville Ferry Road
At Glenorie – Cattai Ridge Road is closed in both directions at The Causeway
At Wallacia – Mulgoa Road is closed between Water Street and Roscrea Drive
At East Kurrajong – Putty Road is closed between East Kurrajong Road and Stannix Park Road
Public Transport
On the Blue Mountains Line – trains are running again between Lithgow and Katoomba after a landslip caused by heavy rain at Blackheath earlier
Busways services in the Hawkesbury area are not operating today due to flooding.
Selected Busways services in the Penrith and Blacktown areas are running
On the T1 Western Line and T5 Cumberland Line – buses are replacing trains between Schofields and Richmond due to flooding
The buses cannot access Vineyard, Mulgrave, Clarendon and East Richmond stations due to road closures caused by flooding.
Buses are replacing F3 ferries between Meadowbank, Rydalmere and Parramatta due to the Parramatta Weir overflowing at Parramatta and strong currents at Rydalmere
Sydney's South:
Audley Weir is closed in the Royal National Park
At Menangle Park – Menangle Road is closed over the Nepean River
At Douglas Park – Douglas Park Drive (causeway) is closed between Moreton Park Road and Mitchell Place
NSW Central West and Riverina:
Between Forbes and West Wyalong – the Newell Highway has reopened in both directions
Between Temora and West Wyalong – Goldfields Way is closed
Between Cowra and Young – the Olympic Highway is closed
NSW South:
Roads
The Illawarra Highway has reopened at Macquarie Pass but remains closed at Albion Park Rail (between Tongarra Road and Croome Lane)
At Bombala – Cathcart Road is closed across the Coolumbooka Bridge
Between Bemboka and Steeple Flat – the Snowy Mountains Highway is closed in both directions
Public transport
On the South Coast Line – buses are replacing trains between Wollongong and Dapto due to signal equipment repairs at Unanderra.
NSW North West:
Between Ivanhoe and Wilcannia – The Cobb Highway is closed
Packsaddle and Tibooburra – the Silver City Highway is closed
Manly local roads in these affected areas are also closed – motorists are advised to check with their local councils.
Flood rescue crews
Livelihoods in ruins
Businesses and homeowners along the Hawkesbury River are counting the cost of four days of devastating rains and floods – and bracing themselves for a clean-up operation likely to take weeks.
For Wayne Smith, who owns the Dargle Turf Farm about three kilometres up-river from water-ravaged Sackville, the major flood is likely to leave his home cut-off for a fortnight, while his sister’s neighbouring ski park resort had at least two dozen caravans washed away by the overflowing Hawkesbury.
In an extra blow for Mr Smith’s sister Tracey and her husband Chris Pugsley, their home, just 500 metres away from their ski resort business, remains completely flooded from the deluge.
“She’s devastated about the house, and that’s just this time – it’s the worry about next time that hurts,” Mr Smith said of his sister.
“The impact personally for them is going to be very great.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, water was continuing to lap through the windows of their house, after the Hawkesbury River breached its banks several days before.
While the family and neighbours worked feverishly to save their personal belongings, Mr Smith said they were resigned to finding much of their furniture and property destroyed when floodwaters reside.
A quick boat-ride around the flooded area shows debris strewn throughout the floodplain, while some caravans had been lifted by the fierce waters and wedged against other structures.
For Mr Smith, it’s the latest blow after a smaller flood crippled his turf farm last year. While his home is safe, despite the only access to it being by boat, he expects at least a million dollar blow to his business.
“We lost six months (of business) from the February flood last year, but the impact of this will be nine months – about $1 million to $1.2m in income,” he said.
He said the impact on his sister’s business would be even greater – with a major clean-up of client’s caravans likely to cost thousands.
Of the 72 caravans at the site, Mr Smith estimated at least two dozen had been swept away by the raging river.
“I estimate about 75 per cent will be unsalvageable,” he said of the caravans, which are owned by clients who regularly water-ski on the famously-sporting section of river.
“We’re very lucky, the farm cleanup is okay, but the caravan park – the waste is the hard part. The last flood cost $10,000 in skip bins alone – now we’ve got to remove ruined mattresses, TVs, everything has been destroyed.”
He estimated about $160,000 worth of machinery – including an excavator and a bulldozer – are also underwater at his sister’s house.
“They got moved to high ground once, but not re-moved as the water kept rising,” he said.
It was part of a marathon 76-hour effort by family members, neighbours, and even ski park clients who helped ship vehicles and belongings to higher ground as flood warnings rolled in from Saturday.
“It’s overwhelming, it’s very humbling…It’s amazing they care for the place as much as we do. They treated it as their own,” Mr Smith said of the help.
Typifying the attitude of many residents along the frequently-treacherous stretch of river, Mr Smith declare: “We’ll manage”.
“We’ll come back from this – we’ve managed before. Our family has been here for 100 years – we’ve always managed,” he said.
– Lachlan Leeming
Hawkesbury, Windsor, Colo warnings
The level of the Hawkesbury River in Windsor has risen overnight, with locals already affected by the flood saying their homes are now further underwater.
Resident Ben Sullivan told The Daily Telegraph he returned to his flood ravaged home on Wednesday morning to find the water level had risen half-a-metre.
Major flood warnings remain in place for the Hawkesbury River at Windsor, Sackville and North Richmond, as well as the Colo River at Colo and Colo Heights.
In other parts of the state, flood evacuation orders have been issued for Southgate on the Clarence River north of Grafton and low lying properties in Moree.
A severe weather warning has been issued for the south coast where gusty winds of up to 90km/h are expected to bring down unstable, bushfire burnt trees.
In a Wednesday morning weather update, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it was "simply a miracle" there had been no fatalities so far across the state at that time.
ADF establish Operation NSW Flood Assist
The Australian Defence Force has established Operation NSW Flood Assist and is preparing about 700 personnel to help the state with recovery efforts as the waters recede.
About 300 ADF members are on standby to deploy from tomorrow after NSW formally requested the help from the federal government, with that expected to double in the coming days.
The ADF is currently supporting the NSW government’s efforts with aerial search and rescue support and civilian evacuation operations.
Under the new Operation, ADF rotary wing aircraft, including three Army MRH-90 helicopters, will deploy from Sydney and Townsville on Thursday to supplement the two ADF helicopters from HMAS Albatross currently complementing state search and rescue capabilities.
– Clare Armstrong
Aerial images detail damage in North Richmond
Eerie blanket of fog in Grafton
The swollen Clarence River shrouded in fog produced eerie scenes at dawn in Grafton on Wednesday morning.
The river reached the major flood level of 5.4m at the Prince St gauge overnight and by 6.30am was approaching the 6m mark – the magic number used by many graziers downriver to move cattle to higher ground.
The various gauging stations upriver continued to rise or remain steady overnight, and at 7.08am this morning the Bureau of Meteorology upgraded its predicted peak for the Clarence from 6.00m to 6.20m on Wednesday evening.
“Major flooding is occurring along the Clarence River at Grafton, moderate flooding is occurring at Ulmarra and minor flooding at Maclean,” the BOM reported.
“The Clarence River at Ulmarra may reach around 4.75 metres Wednesday evening with moderate flooding.
Read more here.
– Bill North in Grafton
Farmers check on crop and stock
The Daily Telegraph's Nathan Edwards has been at Wilsons River near Telegraph Point all morning.
Read related topics:NSW floods
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