Sydney man trapped in car dies in floodwaters, another fatality on Gold Coast

Pakistani man the first casualty of NSW floods when he was unable to fight his way out of his submerged car.

Queensland police divers and rescue team members search a vehicle found submerged and upside down in Canungra Creek on Wednesday. Picture: Scott Powick

A Pakistani man became the first casualty of the NSW flood disaster on Wednesday when he was unable to fight his way out of his car after it was submerged in floodwaters in western Sydney.

Police said the 25-year-old man, who police have identified as Ayaz Younus, spent more than 44 minutes on the phone to emergency services before the signal cut out.

Ayaz Younus drowned in his car on Wednesday. Picture: Facebook

“You can only just imagine somebody fighting for their life to get out of the car — that’s what the inside damage of the car looked like,” Detective Inspector Chris Laird said.

The man died when he drove into a flood-affected area in Glenorie in Sydney’s northwest at 6am on Wednesday. He is suspected to have become trapped when the electrical system failed in his Toyota Camry.

Mr Younus’ death was confirmed by the Pakistan Association of Australia, who said his family had requested to have his body sent back to Karachi.

The man was living in Sydney studying software engineering.

“I have spoken to the father of Ayaz Younus, he had two elder brothers and one younger sister,” Farhat Jaffri from the association said. “His family has requested to send the body back to Karachi.”

Emergency crews searched for the man but were unable to find his car. It was discovered only after the water levels dropped on Wednesday afternoon.

In Queensland, a body believed to be of a man reported missing on the Gold Coast was discovered on Wednesday by a rescue team after his ute was found upside down and submerged in floodwaters.

David Hornman, 38, had last been seen leaving a home on Lamington National Park Road about 6am on Monday as rain-swollen rivers on the Gold Coast surged beyond their banks.

Major flood warnings were still in place for several parts of the state as water drained into rising floodplains, threatening houses, livestock and life. Thousands of people remain unable to return to their homes.

David Hornman. Picture: Police Media

Australian Defence Force personnel have been deployed in helicopters and on the ground across flood-ravaged regions in the mid-north coast and western Sydney.

Flood risks remain for the Hawkesbury River at Windsor, North Richmond and the Colo River, leaving thousands isolated from their homes and unable to assess the damage.

The northern NSW town of Moree was bracing for a fresh flood risk on Wednesday night, with rising floodwaters on the Gwydir and Mehi Rivers threatening to inundate houses and the township.

Major flooding from the Clarence River at Ulmarra and Maclean near Grafton triggered new evacuation orders for residents, with alerts issued for Singleton in the Hunter Valley.

The State Emergency Service said it had received a further 740 calls for assistance on Wednesday, including 62 new flood rescues. A total of 18 evacuation orders remain in place, affecting 24,000 people, and 170 schools are closed.

Scott Morrison toured flood-ravaged communities by air on Wednesday morning, surveying parts of the Hawkesbury River from an ADF helicopter.

The Prime Minister called the scale of the damage “significant” and committed to return to flood-affected communities later this week as the immediate threat started to subside. “Our ADF are providing direct support to the search and rescue efforts and logistical support to air and water movements with the SES in the area,” he said.

“The scale of the damage is significant and I’m committed to continuing to provide all the support necessary.”

 

Gladys Berejiklian appointed Deputy Premier John Barilaro to lead the clean-up and recovery mission, assisted by Resilience NSW Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons. “We’re starting to focus on the clean-up and the recovery because we know what a substantial task that will be,” the NSW Premier said.

“We’re not out of the woods in terms of immediate flood danger, but we have to turn our minds to how we start the clean-up and the recovery.”

The tally of insurance claims received climbed to more than 17,000, as the Insurance Council of Australia declared a catastrophe for southeast Queensland and NSW. The ICA said it estimates the total value of claims across both states to be more than $250m, based on the average cost of claims from similar events.

Rain records have been smashed in the past seven days, with the highest weekly rainfall total recorded at Bellwood and Nambucca Heads on the NSW mid-north coast. Several locations had their wettest March day on record including Yarras, west of Port Macquarie, which received 272mm on Saturday and Killawarra to the south, which received 196.8mm.

Queensland also received a drenching, with North Tamborine recording 670mm, Currumbin recording 464mm and North Stradbroke Island recording 409mm in the same period.

Relief for NSW and Queensland is in sight as the wild weather system begins moving towards Victoria and Tasmania.

BOM senior meteorologist Jonathan How said warmer conditions were slated for the weekend and into next week. “There’ll be heavy rainfall for eastern Tasmania into Thursday but once it eases off, it’ll be much warmer across the continent,” he said.