NSW on edge of flood catastrophe as 50,000 evacuate

More than 50,000 people have been ordered to evacuate homes and a further 18,000 are on alert as NSW braces for more devastating floods.

Roseville Bridge in northern Sydney on Tuesday. Picture: Twitter

More than 50,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes across NSW and a further 18,000 are on alert as the state ­braces for yet another day of devastating floods and heavy rainfall, with water still rising in suburbs across metropolitan Sydney.

Land slippages threatened homes, hundreds of cars became trapped on flooded roads and evacuation orders were issued as swollen rivers sparked flood alerts from Kempsey, the Hunter Valley and Sydney’s western and northern suburbs.

The wild weather caused chaos on Sydney roads, while dozens of train services were cancelled in the city’s west.

Several cars were trapped and left floating in water on the six-lane Roseville Bridge, which crosses Middle Harbour, as water struggled to drain off the structure.

A herd of escaped cattle took up residence in the grounds of a western Sydney school as rain continued to create havoc around the state on Tuesday.

The national death toll from the floods reached 21, with the discovery of two bodies in floodwaters in Constitution Hill, in Sydney’s west, believed to be those of a missing mother and son.

 

The “rain bomb’’ that had caused extensive flooding in Brisbane and inundated the NSW Northern Rivers last week struck metropolitan Sydney and surrounding areas on Tuesday, dumping more than 100mm of rain in the Greater Sydney region on ground already sodden with previous falls.

At least 65 active evacuation orders were in place across NSW late on Tuesday as authorities prepared for water levels along the Georges River, Hawkesbury-­Nepean rivers and Macleay River, among others, to rise further.

Evacuation warnings were in place for more than 2000 residents in Manly, on Sydney’s northern beaches, as Manly Dam threatened to spill late on Tuesday, endangering about 800 homes in low-lying areas. Residents around Narrabeen Lagoon were urged to leave by 7pm or risk being cut off by rising floodwaters.

Major flood warnings also ­continue across inland areas of southern Queensland including the Barwon, lower Moonie, Condamine and Balonne Rivers.

To date, 4439 homes and businesses in NSW have been assessed with flood damage, including 2517 that are now uninhabitable, according to Resilience NSW.

This comes on top of 15,000 homes that were flooded in Brisbane, some for the second time in a decade.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Tuesday appointed Major General Jake Ellwood as the state’s new recovery co-ordinator as the state government left the door open to property buybacks in frequently flooded areas.

In a bid to restore confidence in the NSW government’s ability to deal with the growing flood crisis, Premier Dominic Perrottet announced the appointment of Deputy Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon as regional recovery co-ordinator.

Mr Perrottet apologised for his government’s slow response to the flood crisis in the state’s north, acknowledging there had to be “frank assessments” of the state’s disaster mitigation strategies.

The disaster has so far claimed the lives of seven people in NSW, after police recovered the body of a woman and a man in Sydney’s west.

The grim discovery of two bodies – yet to be formally identified – in Coopers Creek Canal in Constitution Hill was made about 8.20am on Tuesday, near the spot where 67-year-old Hemalathasolhyr Satchithanantham and her 34-year-old son, Bramooth, went missing on Monday night after their car was found abandoned.

A landslide caused by heavy rain in Emu Heights in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Picture: Twitter

Bramooth was understood to be non-verbal and suffer several medical conditions.

The Premier denied Mr Lanyon’s appointment was a duplication of existing roles already covered by Resilience NSW, the government disaster agency under fire for not delivering on previous bushfire and flood crises.

Mr Perrottet insisted Mr Lanyon was “the best person for the job … he is somebody who cuts through, somebody who doesn’t let bureaucracy and red tape get in the way.”

The Premier said he was returning to Lismore, in northern NSW, to fulfil a promise that housing would be his government’s central focus, with thousands in the region left homeless by the floods.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Helen Reid said the rainfall would ease across Sydney on Wednesday, as the east coast low behind the deluge moved south, but the flood risk would continue as water continued to move into swollen rivers. “The rain should ease overnight (on Tuesday) but the rivers have a lot of water in them so some of those rivers will still be rising,” she said.

“Generally in Sydney, the rainfall should be easing, but those rivers are obviously a bit slower to respond. Tomorrow in the Hunter region we’ll see some rivers peaking; Singleton may hit major flood level and that is because all the water is still draining into it.”

Water overflowing at Manly Dam in northern Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

Ms Reid urged residents in the Hunter, the south coast and along flooded rivers such as the Hawkesbury to remain on high alert into Wednesday. “Those floods in some of those areas have been above the major flood level for most of the week; all along the ­Nepean Hawkesbury region, we have flood warnings. Essentially the message is we still have significant flooding around and will likely for a few days yet,” she said.

Winds of up to 90km/h could bring down trees and powerlines in areas where ground was already saturated, the BOM warned.

Motorists have been advised to avoid any unnecessary travel on Wednesday, with road closures active across flood-affected areas causing major travel delays.

On Tuesday night, Pittwater Road was closed in both directions in North Manly and further north at Narrabeen near Devitt Street.

Henry Lawson Drive also remains closed between Milperra and Lugarno, while the Windsor Bridge and North Richmond Bridge remain closed due to flooding on the Hawkesbury River.

Meanwhile, commuters have been urged to rethink their travel, with floodwaters cutting train services between Penrith and Lithgow and Schofield and Richmond on Tuesday and replaced by buses.

The Parramatta ferry ­service was cancelled between Sydney Olympic Park and Parramatta.

Across NSW, the State Emergency Service received 2954 requests for assistance in 24 hours, including 147 for flood rescues, with Brankston ranking as the busiest SES unit with 176 requests, followed by Campbelltown with 170 and The Hills District unit with 129 calls. Since the flood event started on February 22, some 20,800 requests for assistance have been made across the state.