Scott Morrison has revealed the experience that "broke him" during his visit across flood-ravaged NSW as he announced extensive new relief payments for victims. It comes as the state recorded its ninth death from the flood crisis with the body of a man found in Sydney's west.
The Hawkesbury River has peaked lower than expected at Windsor but concern has now turned to Sackville as the "main flooding" washes downstream.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said he was brought to tears by the plight of Lismore farmers and residents during his visit to the flood-ravaged area on Wednesday.
Mr Morrison declared the NSW floods a national emergency and announced more than $50 million in funding for flood victims as well as an extension of the $1000 disaster payments.
It comes as NSW recorded its ninth death amid the state's flood disaster, with police finding the body of a man who went missing in floodwaters in Sydney's west.
Police divers, PolAir and SES crews launched a large-scale search after the 50-year-old's truck was found submerged in floodwater at Greendale.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced several tax relief measures to ease pressure on flood-affected individuals and businesses.
They'll be given flexibility on making business activity statements and upcoming Pay-As-You-Go tax instalments.
They may also claim back previously paid PAYG contributions and GST refunds will be fast-tracked.
Flood victims are encouraged to contact the ATO to inform them of their circumstances.
After the wettest start to the year on record triggered mass devastation across NSW, authorities are forecasting mild conditions for the rest of the week, giving flood-ravaged communities a welcome reprieve.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Dean Narramore said the east coast low which led to the wild weather conditions had finally moved off the coast.
The changed weather pattern is good news for much of NSW and will see clearer skies, some showers and even sunshine in coming days.
I believe this warm light in the sky is called ‘sun’ (pronounced son) and this blue sky is due to the natural atmosphere in of our earth… unusual… it’s been a while since we’ve seen clear skies in Sydney! #sydneyflood #SydneyStorm #NorthernBeaches pic.twitter.com/K8o70LBZI3
— Road Less Travelled (@rdlesstravelled) March 9, 2022
The prodigal sun returns! After weeks of torrential rain I can finally take a walk without donning a wetsuit & flippers. #Sydney pic.twitter.com/IAXFMfRuVL
— Kathy Lette (@KathyLette) March 9, 2022
The controversial $137 million Windsor Bridge was only built to withstand a one-in-three year flood, just 12 months more than the 140-year-old crossing it replaced.
Staying open for even a year — let alone three — has proven to be a challenge for the new link, which was a decade in the planning.
The bridge was cut last Wednesday and remained closed late on Monday.
It was also submerged in March last year.
Construction of the span began in 2018, a decade after it was announced. It opened in May 2020. The Telegraph can reveal the total bill was $137m — more than a third higher than was previously believed.
Praising local residents for stepping up to rescue their neighbours amid catastrophic floods in Lismore, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has avoided questions about why such a heavy burden was placed on locals to save lives.
Mr Morrison said he understood the anger and frustration in the community, but argued it was "very common in natural disasters" that people feel a "sense of abandonment" because of the scale of the weather event.
"I feel deeply and empathise absolutely with how people feel when they find themselves in this situation," he said.
"I absolutely understand the frustration, I understand the anger, I understand disappointment, I understand the sense of abandonment."
Asked if he felt it was unfair locals had to conduct private rescues in their own boats and vessels, and coordinate calls for help when 000 went down, Mr Morrison said it the community would always end up involved in an initial response due to their proximity to the disaster.
Mr Morrison said he was not blaming the state government, but noted the 000 phone service was run by NSW.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds along the NSW coast has been cancelled by the Bureau of Meteorology.
A low pressure system causing the dangerous conditions is moving east.
Wind gusts along the coast and nearby inland have eased in the past few hours and the trend is expected to continue.
CANCELLATION Severe Weather Warning: Damaging #wind 💨 along the #NSW coast have now eased as the low pressure system off the south coast moves further east. pic.twitter.com/Xb9ihDcn3F
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) March 9, 2022
Police have located the body of a man who was reported missing in floodwaters at Greendale in Sydney’s west.
50-year-old Xianbin Liu failed to complete a delivery at 6am on Tuesday, after leaving Greendale at midnight.
His employer found his truck submerged in floodwater at Wolstenhome Avenue about 9pm that night.
Police divers, PolAir and NSW SES initiated a large-scale search, locating the body of a man in the surrounding area.
The body is yet to be formally identified but is believed to be that of Mr Liu.
An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the man’s death is underway and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.
The death is the ninth fatality amid NSW's flood disaster.
North Richmond and communities further downstream on the Hawkesbury River have been told to expect major flooding to linger for the rest of the week.
The river peaked at 14.13 metres at North Richmond around midnight Tuesday into Wednesday and is currently at 13.50 metres and falling as of 4pm.
⚠️ #Flood Warning updated for Hawkesbury Nepean. Major flooding continues at North Richmond and downstream where major flooding is expected to continue for the remainder of the week . See https://t.co/AdztI2rqg1 for details and updates; follow advice from @NSWSES. #NSWFloods pic.twitter.com/1cHMzOIsa2
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) March 9, 2022
Multi-million dollar flood mitigation works will be built in Lismore and the surrounding area to drive down prohibitive insurance costs and give locals the confidence to rebuild.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has committed whatever it takes to protect the NSW northern rivers region against severe catastrophic flooding in the future.
"We need to get this sorted," he said.
"Enough of the talk, people have known what needs to be done for a long time.
"If further hydrology work is required, we will support that with additional funding to get that completed."
Mr Morrison said the additional flood mitigation works were clearly necessary to make insurance affordable for home and business owners.
"If you can't insure, people can't build houses there. If you can't insure, people can't run businesses there, people can't rebuild and restock their dairy farms," he said.
"And for insurance companies to be able to insure, we have to be able to increase the certainty that they have about how these types of devastating floods can impact this region.
"That's the future I want."
Mr Morrison said the cost of the flood mitigation works would be shared with all levels of government, with the Commonwealth's contribution to come from the emergency response fund.
"I'm talking more than tens of millions (of dollars)," he said.
"We have to get this done."
The plight of Lismore farmers and residents has brought Prime Minister Scott Morrison to tears as he recounted his visit in the wake of catastrophic flooding, saying the stories of destruction "broke me up".
Mr Morrison on Wednesday announced people living in the Lismore, Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley council areas who have already qualified for the emergency Commonwealth payment of $1000 per adult and $400 per child would be paid the same amount again automatically on March 15 and again on March 21.
The extension of this emergency support is designed to buy time for the government to develop longer term income supports for the residents and business owners who have lost everything.
"That's $50 million directly going to the pockets of those most affected in just three council areas," he said.
"We're going it to give the breathing space so that people can have the confidence
that tomorrow morning they will be able to put food on the table in those most affected areas, put petrol in the car if they have a car, or they will be able to make some other arrangement.
"They won't be completely void of economic resources to do those things over the next couple of weeks."
Mr Morrison became teary as he recounted a visit to a destroyed dairy farm in the area earlier on Wednesday.
"Today that milking shed is a disaster zone," he said.
"They no longer have a farm.
"To talk to them, to a dairy farmer, who said he had to sit there and watch as his herd suffered, it broke me up.
"And when I speak to businesses, when I speak to neighbours who knew there were elderly people trapped in rooms, this is a tough town."
Chaotic scenes emerged from Enzo’s Cucina restaurant in Camden as falling floodwaters revealed the devastating damage to the popular local eatery.
Co-owner Rina Maruzza was in shock after arriving on scene where tables and chairs strewn across the neighbouring vineyard and large glass doors were ripped out of the floor along with their support brackets.
“This is truly devastating. It looks like a scene from the Wizard of Oz,” she said.
“I’ve cried all night. It’s so hard.
“My son and I and my staff have put so much work in to build this restaurant. I didn’t think it would be this bad.”
The family owned business, which provides jobs for about 25 to 30 staff, was meant to celebrate it’s fourth year since opening this Saturday.
“I didn’t expect this. Nothing like this at all,” Ms Maruzza said.
“It’s very heartbreaking to see."
Despite the extent of the mess, Ms Maruzza was positive that the community would come together to rebuild the business overtime.
“We’ll put it back together. It’s a beautiful community,” she said.
“Everything is repairable. It’ll take some time, patience and no more rain.”
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