Thousands without power, evacuation orders as heavy rain lashes NSW
By Cindy Yin
More than 40 people have been rescued, thousands are without power and a number of evacuation orders are in place as heavy rain, flash flooding and intense winds batter the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions.
Taree experienced the heaviest downpour, with almost 267 millimetres of rainfall recorded in the 24 hours to 9am and significant flash flooding, while Mount Barrington, north-west of Newcastle, recorded 232 millimetres and Port Macquarie recorded 226 millimetres.
The NSW SES responded to more than 1071 calls for assistance in the 24 hours to 3pm on Tuesday, with 41 flood rescues.
“We’re glad these people have all been brought to safety, but these incidents act as a timely reminder never to drive, walk or play in floodwaters. If it’s flooded, forget it,” NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey said.
Evacuation orders are in place for parts of Taree, Gloucester, Wingham, Bulahdelah, Paterson, Dungog, Croki and Coopernook as a result of flooding. SES crews have been doorknocking in high-risk areas.
NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib thanked the 1600 SES volunteers on the ground and described the situation as “unpredictable and ever-changing”.
“At the moment things seem to have settled in some parts, but we know that the rain is heading north and it may come back in and develop into another form of a rain band,” he said.
The Central Coast and Hunter have been hit by heavy rain, wild winds and big surf.Credit: Dean Sewell
More than 4000 people are without power in the Mid North Coast region, with a further 400 in Newcastle. Essential Energy and Ausgrid are working to restore the connections.
The Central Coast and Newcastle train line has also been heavily affected by damaged overhead wiring, with buses to replace trains between Newcastle and Fassifern train stations in both directions.
Meanwhile, 68 public schools in NSW and 10 independent schools in NSW were closed on Tuesday.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Steve Bernasconi described the deluge as “a multi-day weather event that’s turned into a multi-day flood event”.
“It’ll be focused on the Hunter and the mid north coast (on Tuesday) and into (Wednesday), with the potential for rainfall to still persist along the coast into the end of the week and weekend,” he said.
“The significant message is that the soils are completely saturated, and any rainfall that falls will run off and go straight into the creeks and rivers.”
Hazardous surf warnings are also in place along the NSW coast from Byron Bay to Sydney.
“Large and powerful waves have also been lashing much of the NSW coast, bringing the risk of coastal erosion and creating really dangerous beach conditions,” Senior Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Sarah Scully said.
With AAP
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