NSW floods: More shelters needed as levels tipped to rise

Local officials across the NSW mid-north coast are scrambling to resolve emergency accommodation shortages as conditions begin to deteriorate.

Heavy rain continues to batter the NSW mid north coast causing major flooding. Kempsey. Picture: Nathan Edwards

Evacuation centres across the mid-north coast remain inundated with hundreds of residents and stranded visitors, as local officials scramble to resolve acute short­ages in emergency accommodation before conditions deteriorate.

On Monday morning State Emergency Services confirmed 15,000 residents had been evacuated along the mid-north coast, and more evacuations were likely.

Robert Dwyer, who manages the Laurieton evacuation centre, in one of the hardest-hit regions, said “while we are bracing for another stint of wild rain, there are urgent plans happening about how we are going to expand some of the emergency accommodation over the next couple of weeks”.

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council Mayor Peta Pinson also raised concerns about accommodation shortages, saying “local people and different organisations are helping out and providing shelter where they can, but we’re considering how this can work in the mid- to long-term, with weather about to get much worse”.

While key evacuation centres along the coast have not reached capacity, with Laurieton currently holding 300 residents, and Port Macquarie’s two evacuation centres hosting a total of 260 residents and visitors, numbers are expected to rise in the coming days.

Ms Pinson said she was confident the region was ready for conditions to deteriorate, as Monday morning saw emergency services replenished after some crews stayed on call for almost two days.

Major road closures and flash flooding continue to affect communication and supply lines, especially the town of Kempsey, where evacuation orders were issued at midnight on Sunday, before the Macleay River peaked at 6.4m at 7am on Monday morning.