Disease risk hampers floods clean-up

Thousands of people are at risk of disease and infection as the flood waters across NSW and Queensland started to recede.

An aerial view of the inundated town of Moree in northern NSW shows the full extent of the devastation. Picture: Sascha Estens

Thousands of people are at risk of disease and infection as the flood waters across NSW and Queensland start to recede, leaving destroyed homes, townships and a thick layer of muddy and often toxic sludge in their wake.

In NSW, the SES confirmed at least 55 houses had been destroyed and another 230 damaged as they began their tally on Thursday. However, both numbers are expected to climb dramatically.

NSW Health issued warnings for sewage and chemically contaminated floodwaters following reports of overrun septic tanks and dead animals polluting water.

Councils in the flood-affected areas began to mop up the damage, clearing trees and debris, while engineers assessed bridges and electrical operators worked to restore power.

But emergency services and rescue operations continued to battle flooding in Ulmarra, Brushgrove and Cowper near Grafton, as well as the Manning, Namoi, Clarence and Orara Rivers.

More than 4000 people were evacuated in the northern NSW town of Moree when it split in half on Thursday and faced fresh flood risks from the rising Mehi River.

The flooding in Moree left three people trapped in a giant sinkhole when the ground gave way beneath them. One man climbed out on his own, but the other man and women needed help from local firefighters.

While blue skies continued in some parts of the state, heavy rainfall carpeted the south coast, with Merimbula recording more than 42mm in just 30 minutes.

Insurance assessors were able to move into flood-ravaged areas on Thursday to begin their mammoth task of processing claims.

The Insurance Council of Australia said the total number of claims had already topped 22,000 valued at an estimated $331m, but both figures were expected to soar as people returned to their homes.

IAG, the nation’s largest general insurer, said it had started to ­assess the more than 7000 claims it had received.

Suncorp said the lion’s share of its 5400 claims were from NSW, with more than 85 per cent relating to property damage.

Freight operations continued to be disrupted as flooding affected rail lines at Telarah, Grafton, Narrabri North and Moree.

NSW Farmers has been scrambling to assess the damage to farms after reports of crop losses, waterlogged properties and widespread loss of livestock.

Chief executive Peter Arkle said some properties on the mid-north coast had lost more than half their livestock.

Soybean, mung bean and cotton crops, which are currently flowering, are under threat in properties around Moree.

Nearly 300 ADF personnel were in the air and on the ground on Thursday to help with the rescue and clean-up efforts, with plans to double that number.

The ADF is expected to transfer additional aircraft from Queensland to NSW to boost ­resources on the mid-north coast.

Troops were operating at Taree, Kempsey and Port Macquarie with full deployment to Richmond in Sydney’s west to begin in the coming days.

The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed that 75,000 gigalitres of water — more than 150 times the volume of water in Sydney Harbour — had fallen across NSW in the past week.