‘Like a war zone’: Urgent plea from families in ‘apocalyptic’ northern NSW floods

Desperate families have made an urgent plea for help as intense floods continue to devastate remote communities in northern NSW.

Desperate families in northern NSW have made an urgent plea for help as floodwaters continue to ravage their communities and put lives at risk.

Flooding and landslides have hit the regional Northern Rivers town of Mullumbimby with locals likening the carnage to a war zone, while entrances into the town have been cut off.

Residents have become trapped with mud covering the town.

Discarded belongings are piled on the side of the road, while many have become stranded as the result of landslide damage cutting off roads forcing locals to issue an urgent plea for help.

Some have taken to social media to ask for emergency services to be sent to the town.

Mullumbimby flooding and landslides have left behind devastation. Picture: Zali Spinner

Local resident Monica Sheppard said there were dozens of people including children and babies left without electricity, food and water in the Northern Rivers district.

“It’s a state of emergency,” she said, describing the situation as “apocalyptic”.

“There are landslides and regular people are trying to scale cliffs and rescue pregnant women, babies and families.

“We need the army, we need police, we need services.”

Locals hold grave fears for the elderly and disabled residents, while people are crying in the streets desperate for any assistance.

Some are having to trek through mud and waist-high, fast-flowing floodwater just to make sure loved ones are safe.

One local wrote on Facebook: “Mullum looked like a war zone, three people said it reminded them of Burning Man, it reminded me of New York after 9/11.”

Some have likened the disaster to looking “like a war zone” in Mullumbimby Northern NSW. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Danielle Smith

With the landslides and bridges being broken due to the floods, residents of Mullumbimby have no power or water.

There are no operational shops and many supermarkets are running desperately low on supplies, so many are getting food sent across to them by pulley systems.

EFTPOS systems are also down, meaning people need to line up at ATMs and banks, but machines have also run out of money.

Petrol in the small towns is also hard to come by.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton said the defence force sent 2000 personnel to provide support to the affected areas.

“As these stories come to our attention, the ADF will respond immediately, and they will supplement the work that’s being done by the local councils, by the state government, by the SES,” Mr Dutton told Today.

“We have rescued now 103 people using the helicopters, and there will be a lot more on the road in the clean- up.

“We have had troops in Gympie helping there with the clean up, obviously in the southeast corner of Queensland, spanning all the way down the east coast toward western Sydney.”

Flooding and landslides have hit the regional Northern Rivers town of Mullumbimby. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Danielle Smith

“So, this is a massive area they are covering, and I think the effort that they have undertaken is quite phenomenal and the acts of bravery we have seen should make us all proud.

“But this work will continue 24/7 until people are through the recovery of this.”

Mr Dutton said there was an agreement with Telstra and NBN companies for ADF personnel to provide battery back-up and help reconnect electricity to crucial infrastructure.

He said the ADF would provide help through helicopter support and vehicles to help in inaccessible terrain.

“There is quite a broad range of effort that’s underway from the ADF specialists, but they are stretched across a long distance at the moment,” Mr Dutton said.

Aerial photographs of Ballina have shown the sheer scope of the flood disaster as landmarks across the city are overwhelmed by water.

Bunnings Ballina, near the site of the iconic Big Prawn tourist hotspot, has become inundated by rising floodwaters.

The Bureau of Meteorology has reported water levels exceeding 6.5m in some parts of the Lower Richmond River near Ballina.

In just 24 hours the situation in Ballina has deteriorated dramatically, with many homes inundated by floodwaters and phone reception reportedly patchy.

BEFORE: Bunnings in Ballina before the floods. SOURCE: Urban.com

AFTER: Bunnings Ballina two days after evacuation orders were issued ahead of disastrous floods. SOURCE: 7 News

And again after the flood: Cars were seen scattered throughout the carpark along with debris after the flood had subsided. Picture: Media Mode

“We‘ve got serious issues here in Ballina, there’s no point trying to hide it any longer,” Ballina’s mayor, Sharon Cadwallader told the Today Show on Wednesday.

“The river has burst its banks, the whole of the island is filling up.”

Rescue teams have begun searching the town for stranded residents camped out on roofs and trapped inside of flooded buildings.

A family of five from the South of Ballina were rescued by a Queensland Health Life Flight helicopter on Thursday morning.

Paramedics were winched down to the scene where two adults, a teenager and two younger children were boarded onto a rescue basket and lifted into the helicopter.

Floodwaters arriving beside Bunnings and The Big Prawn at West Ballina, March 1, 2022. Picture: Tori-Anne Stamp

Ballina was issued evacuation warnings in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Just hours later, the direction changed to “evacuate now” at 6am giving the residents 30 minutes to pack their things and leave.

By Friday morning the SES had received more than 4000 calls for assistance.

State Emergency Service spokesman Ryan Clarkstone said the number of rescues dropped across the state overnight with 684 calls for help made between 3.30pm and 5.30am on Friday morning.

Thirteen flood rescues were carried out.

The NSW SES continues to advise staying away from flood affected areas and avoiding non-essential travel.

The latest flood warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology:

• Major Flood Warning for the Richmond River
• Major Flood Warning for the Weir River
• Moderate to Major Flood Warning for the Manning and Gloucester Rivers
• Moderate to Major Flood Warning for the Hawkesbury and Nepean Valley and Colo River
• Moderate to Major Flood Warning for the Clarence River
• Moderate Flood Warning for the Hunter River
• Moderate Flood Warning for the Tuggerah Lake
• Moderate Flood Warning for the Orara River
• Moderate Flood Warning for the Paterson and Williams Rivers
• Minor Flood Warning for the Wilsons River
• Minor Flood Warning for the Bellinger River
• Minor Flood Warning for the Hastings River
• Minor Flood Warning for the Shoalhaven River
• Minor Flood Warning for the Deua River
• Minor Flood Warning for the Bega River
• Minor Flood Warning for the Lachlan River
• Minor Flood Warning for the Paroo River
• Minor Flood Warning for the Myall River
• Minor Flood Warning for the St Georges Basin
• Minor Flood Warning for the Macintyre Brook and lower Macintyre River
• Minor Flood Warning for the Snowy River
• Final Flood Warning for the Georges River
• Final Flood Warning for the Cooks River
• Flood Warning for the Dumaresq River