Storm’s deadly torrents threaten Sydney

The deadly storm system that has left a trail of devastation along Australia’s eastern seaboard is now threatening major flooding in ­significant areas of Sydney.

Floods rise above the bridge at Richmond along Bells Line of Road on Wednesday. Picture: David Swift

The deadly storm system that has left a trail of devastation along Australia’s eastern seaboard is now threatening major flooding in ­significant areas of Sydney as it moves south.

Evacuation ­orders have been issued to residents in the city’s southwest ahead of torrential rain.

North Richmond residents were ordered late on Wednesday to evacuate, with the “likely chance” the Redbank Dam would fail, causing major flooding along the Hawkesbury and Nepean ­rivers similar to the disastrous floods of March last year.

With both rivers rising rapidly, the SES told Sydney residents not to wait for evacuation orders to leave their homes, especially if they lived in low-lying areas.

Rising water levels close off roads in the Hawkesbury area of northwest Sydney. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Conditions across metropolitan Sydney and the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers regions were “seriously deteriorating”, SES Commissioner Carlene York said on Wednesday evening.

Evacuation orders have now been issued to 31 locations across the state, with the focus of emergency services now turning to metropolitan Sydney. “A dangerous situation is evolving and we expect the rain to continue tonight, as well as into tomorrow … I just want to reiterate, major flood warnings are current for parts of the Hawkesbury and the ­Nepean,” Ms York said.

Residents along the Hawkesbury and Georges Rivers were urged to review their evacuation routes, as the Warragamba Dam began to spill on Wednesday morning.

In northern NSW, many towns were still battling rising water, with thousands of homes under water in Ballina.

NSW Emergency Services Minister Stephanie Cook said floods in southwest Sydney would be comparable to last year’s deluge and “all attention” was ­focused on the Warragamba Dam. Picture: Jeremy Piper

At least 17 local government areas in northern NSW were declared national disaster zones, with residents eligible for immediate disaster relief from the NSW government.

Low-income earners would be eligible for a Disaster Relief Grant to assist with damage to the structure or contents of their home.

Small business and primary producers can apply for concessional loans of up to $130,000.

As floodwaters began to recede in badly hit Lismore, SES Chief Superintendent Steve Patterson urged residents not to prematurely return to their homes, with heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast and dangerous debris scattered throughout the area.

“The main message I … have for people at the moment is to please be patient,” he said. Rescuers found the body of a man in his 70s inside a flooded unit in South Lismore. The bodies of two women in their 80s and a man swept away in ferocious waters on Tuesday had been found earlier.

Another man died on the central coast on Friday.

A family struggles through flood water in Richmond, northwest Sydney, on Wednesday. Picture: John Feder

In Queensland, nine people have lost their lives in the floods.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said emergency services were likely to uncover further fatalities as flood levels receded and the recovery effort began across northern NSW.

Speaking in Grafton in the state’s north after surveying damage from a helicopter, Mr Perrottet said what he had seen was “beyond anything I could have ever imagined”.

“The widespread flooding is just simply extraordinary. You have got two options at that point: you either run for the hills, so to speak, or it strengthens your ­resolve.”

Mr Perrottet has asked Scott Morrison for emergency federal funding and support for flood-­affected communities.

Sydney could get up to 160mm of rain overnight on Wednesday night, with conditions likely to persist into Thursday. Picture: David Swift

NSW Emergency Services Minister Stephanie Cook said floods in southwest Sydney would be comparable to last year’s deluge and “all attention” was ­focused on the Warragamba Dam. “Sydney is on high alert right now and to everyone in that region, we ask you to please keep an eye on evacuation warnings if they are issued, which may escalate into evacuation orders in this disaster,” she said.

The NSW south coast has begun to feel the impact of the wild weather system, with evacuation orders and road closures across the region.

The BOM said Sydney could get up to 160mm of rain overnight on Wednesday, with conditions likely to persist into Thursday.