Elon Musk comes to the rescue after Mick Fanning’s NSW floods plea

Elon Musk has leapt into action, sending help to areas of NSW ravaged by destructive floods after surfing legend Mick Fanning’s plea.

Elon Musk has lent a helping hand after Australian surfing legend Mick Fanning put the call out for assistance from the tech guru.

As Queensland and NSW get battered by huge amounts of rainfall causing floods that have resulted in death and widespread property destruction, Fanning reached out to Musk on Twitter.

“@elonmusk We need help with the flood disaster in NSW, Australia. The people have no means of communication and really need your help!” he wrote.

“Can you help us with Starlink? How can we make it happen? Please share.”

Ask and you shall receive. Following Fanning’s plea, NBN News reporter Josephine Shannon revealed on Twitter some of the worst-hit areas of the NSW Northern Rivers have received more than 10 Starlink Rapid Deployment Kits to help with emergency communications.

Shannon said each kit is worth about $10,000 and will help people contact loved ones and first responders.

After Mick Fanning put the call out to Elon Musk, telecommunications provider Netvault donated over 10 Starlink Rapid Deployment Kits (worth $10K) enabling some of the worst flood affected parts of the Northern Rivers to now contact family, friends and first responders! @nbnnewspic.twitter.com/Og8lSP30Vz

— Josephine Shannon (@Josie_Shannon_) March 8, 2022

Starlink is a satellite internet service by Musk’s company SpaceX, which allows people to use a dish and router to connect to the internet by linking to the low-orbit satellites shot up into space by the billionaire entrepreneur.

Last year Starlink partnered with telecommunications provider NetVault, who was on the ground delivering the technology to flood-affected areas.

We’ve donated 10 Starlink kits to assist with flood recovery efforts, arriving in Byron Bay this morning. These kits will have the new Starlink roaming feature enabled. This means the service is portable, & the Starlink units can be moved to other flood ravaged locations easily. pic.twitter.com/3wps5e02JM

— NetVault (@NetVaultAus) March 7, 2022

Special thanks to Jean Renouf from Resilient Byron Group. Jean reached out to us to get emergency SpaceX Starlink terminals for the Byron region, which were delivered today. We're in talks with SpaceX to get more Starlink terminals for people in Lismore & Byron areas. #Starlinkpic.twitter.com/ih5dzIEGM5

— NetVault (@NetVaultAus) March 7, 2022

Last week Fanning surprised residents on the NSW North Coast with a selfless act amid the ongoing flood disaster.

Pharmacist Skye Swift put a call out on social media for a ride from Tweed to Murwillumbah to make sure residents could access essential medication, The Age reported. To her surprise, none other than the three-time world surfing champion rocked up on a jet ski offering to give her a ride.

Fellow surf star and 2012 world champ Joel Parkinson was also spotted lending a hand, ferrying stranded residents alongside Fanning.

Mick Fanning donned the wetsuit for a very different reason. Photo: Facebook.

Surfing legend Joel Parkinson also joined the rescue effort.

Southeast Queensland and Northern NSW have been smashed by torrential rain over the past fortnight, while flood levels in parts of Sydney are expected to reach new highs not seen since March 1978.

Thousands of residents across NSW were forced to leave their homes overnight and thousands more are preparing for the worst as dangerous flooding impacts a large area of the state.

More heavy rain fell across the Hunter, Central Coast, Sydney, Illawarra and South Coast in mere hours. Authorities say homes, businesses and roads have been flooded while some rivers are still rising. More than 60 evacuation areas were in place overnight.

Sydney’s northern beaches were smashed by rising floodwaters. On Tuesday, waves took shape down Redman Road in Dee Why, while knee-deep water swelled on Campbell Parade and surrounding streets in Manly Vale, inundating businesses and cars.

The M5 tunnel in Sydney was flooded.

Central Avenue in Manly was underwater. Picture: Supplied, Steve Thomas

An east coast low continued to deepen off the Hunter Coast and tracked to the south-southeast overnight, expected to continue into Wednesday.

Strong, gusty southerly winds of up to 90km/hr developed with a severe weather warning for damaging winds in place for people in Illawarra and parts of Hunter, Metropolitan, South Coast, Southern Tablelands and Snowy Mountains Forecast Districts. Residents have been urged not to travel.

Large and powerful seas are also expected until Thursday with “very heavy surf” causing “likely” coastal erosion for southerly facing beaches within the South Coast, Illawarra and Sydney Metropolitan districts.

Close to 100,000 claims have been made in southeast Queensland and New South Wales floods since the flood crisis, the Insurance Council of Australia said. The claims are estimated to total $1.45bn and are expected to rise.

The floods have caused huge amounts of damage. Photo: Twitter.