NSW floods live updates: More warnings for Hawkesbury, residents reunite with families
Emergency services have reunited dozens of families this morning after they have spent the week cut off from one another.
Joshua Hanrahan
less than 2 min read
March 25, 2021 - 8:54AM
Boatloads of stranded people have been ferried by the SES across the Hawkesbury River on Thursday morning. as the water level finally begins to drop.
At the makeshift boat ramp on at the bottom of flooded George Street in Windsor, SES and NSW Police boats have been going out empty and coming back full.
Those onboard have largely been sick, elderly or pregnant.But one of the most emotional embraces was that shared between 11-year-old Jamie Crinnion and his mum Mirva.
The youngster went for a sleepover at a friend’s house in Wilberforce last week, but when the rain set in and did not relent, he became stranded.
With tears in her eyes Mrs Crinnion wrapped her arms around her son as he stepped off the SES boat, telling him: “You’re home”.
“He went over there for a sleepover and it has all gone wrong,” Jamie’s father Paul said.
“We’ve got some good friends over at Singleton who he was staying with, but I was going to do a run over through Singleton today but the SES have helped out.
“His mum will be beside herself when he gets off, she’s really missed him.”
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Updates
QLD mud army 2.0 to head south
mitchell.vanhomrigh
A decade after the mud army first emerged , troops are preparing to head south to lend a helping hand.
Now, ten years on, they're heading south to help out.
Queensland SES crews heading home after assisting in New South Wales🙌@QldFES will remain on the ground to assist communities affected by catastrophic weather.
We’re thinking of everyone impacted.
I know these Queenslanders were proud to lend a hand when it was needed most. pic.twitter.com/fbQmvHUXKd
Australian soldiers have been tasked to the Mid-North Coast to assist in the massive clean up effort of homes rocked by flooding.
About 250 personnel from the Australian Defence Force have been stationed across flood-affected zones, including the homes of Port Macquarie, Wauchope and Dunbogan residents such as ex-Naval chief Adam Hubbard.
The 14-year Naval chief who’s spent plenty of time around water, had never experienced anything like the scenes which engulfed his rental along Settlement Pt Rd on Friday.
“My mate Troy came and rescued me, my partner and my son who is six, and dropped us back to safety at my partner’s car which was luckily OK,” he said.
“The water was just lapping up in under the balcony, my car was underwater – my brand new [Toyota Landcruiser] 200 Series and a few other things like lounges which would now be perished.”
Prior to his place going under, Mr Hubbard was out helping his friend rescue others from situations, but soon realised that he too was about to become beholden to the rising waters.
“The hardest thing was going from saving others to having to be rescued,” he said.
“It was just surreal to me that I couldn’t do anything. I had a six-year-old son and I was just worried about his safety. I felt a bit helpless.
This time last year, firefighters were just starting to put their feet up after the worst bushfire season on record.
Fast forward to 2021, the volunteers are back out in the community helping with the flood recovery efforts.
RFS Spokesman Ben Shepherd said there were 612 firefighters and support personnel active across the state.
There were also 125 trucks and cars used as well as 16 aircraft.
They are joined by more than 250 Fire and Rescue New South Wales staff, and 60 fire trucks, who travelled to the Mid North Coast.
FRNSW Commissioner Paul Baxter said there will be a long road to recovery for many residents and businesses in the region. “Our firefighters have been on the ground since day one of this severe weather event, working tirelessly alongside the NSW SES and other emergency services in rescuing people and providing vital assistance,” he said. “Just as we were there during the worst of the floods, we will now be there to help communities clean-up and get back on their feet.”
Wisemans ferry supply mission underway
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The rain may have stopped and the sun finally reappeared, but the mission to get desperately-needed food and medicine to the tiny, flood-smashed communities stranded in NSW’s treacherous downpours is set to continue for at least another week.
Wisemans Ferry was a hive of activity on Thursday, as the small riverside town north-west of Sydney played host to the massive effort to get crucial supplies to hundreds of families stranded by floodwaters in the winding valleys and hills surrounding it.
Throughout the day the Rural Fire Service helicopter regularly landed on the small patch of grass next to the Wisemans Ferry Bowling Club, where it was loaded with food and medicine for hundreds of residents stranded at the tiny village of Upper MacDonald, so isolated that it couldn’t even be reached by river craft.
State Emergency Services crews were kept busy throughout the day with deliveries of such necessities as long-life milk, bread, bacon and sausages to residents along the river who could still be accessed by boat.
“Our saviours,” cried Gary Corr as an SES boat pulled up to their isolated home near the Koveda Holiday Inn, a couple of kilometres up the river from Wisemans Ferry.
He and his wife Kim had been cut off by floodwaters since Saturday – but could be considered lucky given both internet and power had been restored.
More than a thousand residents are believed to be cut off around the Hawkesbury River and its tributaries, with some taking matters into their own hands and using personal vessels to drive into towns to get much-needed food and supplies.
Lyn Macpherson’s home near Wisemans Ferry has been cut off since floodwaters surged into the area on Saturday. Her family has been able to get into town using their own 12 feet tinny, but without electricity and running water in their house, they’re growing increasingly frustrated.
“The hardest thing for us is that we haven’t got electricity – we can’t shower because we only have water tanks, we’ve only got a camping fridge and a gas stove so we can only keep the bare essentials and have to keep coming across for supplies,” she said.
Besides keeping fed, attention was already turning to the costly clean-up yet to come.
“The cost of having to clean all this up – all this mud – is going to be massive, and there’s no assistance,” she said.
Astonishing impact of floods on the ocean
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Photographers from the Central Coast Aero Club snapped some amazing images as they flew over The Entrance channel on Thursday.
An investigation will be held into the death of Ayaz Younus, 25, who died while trying frantically to escape the car as the water rose around him.
The SES has conducted 1013 thousands of flood rescues in the past week in NSW, a significant proportion of those from vehicles, said SES spokesman SES Phil Campbell.
It’s not just currents, debris and damaged road surfaces that are deadly either — an average vehicle that drives into water higher than 15cm will lose power as water enters the exhaust and washes into the air intake.
Modern cars with electrically-powered windows and locks are almost impossible to escape from once water finds its way into wiring and motors, disabling switchgear and pressing on bodywork, according to the NRMA.
Stranded people have been ferried across the Hawkesbury River on Thursday morning, as the water level finally begins to drop.
SES and NSW police boats left the ramp at the bottom of flooded George St, Windsor, empty and came back full to the brim. Those onboard have largely been sick, elderly or pregnant.
One of the most emotional embraces was shared between 11-year-old Jamie Crinnion and his mum Mirva. The youngster went for a sleepover at a friend’s house in Wilberforce last week, but when the rain set in and did not relent, he became stranded. With tears in her eyes Mrs Crinnion wrapped her arms around her son as he stepped off the SES boat, telling him: “You’re home”. “He went over there for a sleepover and it has all gone wrong,” Jamie’s father Paul said. “We’ve got some good friends over at Singleton who he was staying with, but I was going to do a run over through Singleton today but the SES have helped out. “His mum will be beside herself when he gets off, she’s really missed him.”
In a grey t-shirt, the youngster walked off the boat carrying his overnight bag in one hand and iPad in the other. He admitted he had become “bored” of playing his games after a few days and was “sad” to be away with his parents. Similarly, his mother was incredibly happy to have him home. “We knew he was safe the whole time, we weren’t worried, but it was just the feeling that you couldn’t get to him,” Mrs Crinnion said. Heavily pregnant Kim Rocchie was among the first to be brought across to the city side of the river on Thursday, accompanied by her young daughter Mia. The mother and daughter were greeted by friends who took them off to Nepean Hospital, where their family will grow. Coming in minutes before them was Andrew Crick, wincing in pain as he battled kidney stones.
Paul Hardaker left his family behind at Wilberforce. Suffering kidney cancer he will spend a few days with friends before going into surgery next week. Despite his serious health battle the 59-year-old’s attitude is incredibly the same as so many who have been affected by the floods: It will be OK. “I’ve got some test to get done, but I’ve got cancer in both kidneys, so I’ve got to get one removed – it’s worse than the other,” Mr Hardaker said. “It’s OK, it turns out if you’re going to have cancer get kidney cancer, you’ve got a spare. “I’m better off than other people and with everything that’s going on it’s hard to complain. “I just rang the SES and told them I needed to come across and they said: ‘Be here at this time’. They’ve just been awesome. “We were kind of debating what to do, whether my wife would come with me or not, but if the bridges open she will come over then.”
Rural Fire Service
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The clean up begins. RFS volunteers have been sent across the state to lend a helping hand.
This is the massive task facing residents and clean up crews in Port Macquarie.
Here to help. More than 200 NSW RFS firefighters are in Port Macquarie to help with the massive flood clean up effort. They’re part of a multi agency team including FRNSW and Defence, who will be helping residents by hosing out homes and removing damaged items. #nswrfs#nswfloodspic.twitter.com/5d7RqtleW1
SES Superintendent Mitch Parker said they are expecting more evacuations in the Moree area.
“We're still looking at an increasing amount of evacuations. We saw more in the hours of this morning. The evacuation centre is still operating in Moree and it is going quite well,” he said.
“We have had around 16 flood rescues overnight. This amounted to people driving into flood waters when they shouldn't have or people starting to see the waters rise quickly around their houses. We have had them actioned quite properly.”
Building delays forecast for flood victims
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Building industry experts have warned residents in flood damaged homes they face extensive delays and potentially higher prices for fixing their property due to the state’s current surge in construction. Current estimates from the Insurance Council of Australia say the storms from the past week have triggered an estimated $250 million in claims of property damage. Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors chief executive Grant Warner said the price hikes were driven by increased demand — something they had observed following the summer bushfires of 2020. “A spike in demand from a mass destruction event, such as these floods, will likely result in increased costs for materials and labour. Those making claims for insurance could see delays in getting trades and materials,” he said. Mr Warner urged affected residents to engage a quantity surveyor to assess the rebuilding cost so they paid a fair and not inflated price. “This will be even more important where the home building insurance is for a fixed amount (sum-insured) which has the potential of leaving you underinsured and as a result your insurance may not cover all the costs to rebuild your house,” he said. While some residents would be covered by insurance for flood damage, others would be uninsured while others may find themselves unable to claim back anything. Minister Better Regulation Kevin Anderson warned residents of flood damaged homes to check if tradespeople offering cheap repairs to check to see if someone was qualified. "Be wary of hiring unlicensed tradespeople, especially if they’re offering quick, cheap, cash-only repairs. Only experienced professionals know how to navigate the many possible hazards caused by flooding, so it’s essential all work is carried out by licensed tradies," he said. “We’ve made it easy to know whether someone is qualified or not by developing an online licence check tool, so be vigilant, verify their licence, ask for references and request a written contract for any work over $1,000.” Gregory Hills based construction company Ultima Building Group director Veronica Sparagis called on other builders not to inflate their prices in the face of increased demand due to flood damaged properties. “For homeowners who have struggled through the past year with COVID restrictions, the latest flooding disaster is a hit that they just don’t need right now. The costs involved in emergency repairs, especially spikes in building costs and high demand, is exorbitant for homeowners,” Ms Sparagis said. “Families most affected are typically those in areas that are in lower economic areas, and this blow is disheartening. It’s important that the community of contractors support local homeowners with fair pricing.”
The Central Coast Council has rescinded a warning to residents in some of its most affluent suburbs, having earlier told them to boil water because it might contain harmful bacteria.
