Residents airlifted as dam spills over in NSW central west

A major flood recovery operation is underway across the state’s central west, after historic rainfall overwhelmed river systems and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate.

The floodwaters have devastated the small town of Eugowra in the rain-soaked central west of NSW. Picture: Twitter

A major flood recovery operation is under way across the central west region of NSW after more heavy rainfall forced emergency releases from a major dam, overwhelmed river systems and led to the evacuations of hundreds of residents from their homes.

After a gruelling night of torrential rain and evacuations, emergency services declared they had launched NSW’s “biggest flood operation” in its history, with response units focusing on the embattled towns of Forbes, Borenore, Canobolas, Molong, Canowindra, Walli, Tuena and Eugowra.

On Tuesday, dramatic footage of the Wyangala Dam releasing a record 230,000 megalitres of water sparked fresh fears of further evacuations, but by the afternoon the Bureau of Meteorology said the flood threat had eased and conditions cleared.

Wyangala Dam is releasing a record 230,000 megalitres a day, threatening several communities along the Lachlan River.

NSW Police have confirmed a search was underway to locate as many as two people believed to be missing in flood waters in the state’s central west.

SES Commissioner Carlene York said emergency personnel had received 180 requests for assistance and conducted 159 flood rescues, many off the roofs of houses and businesses.

“We have 14 helicopters and we have four that are helping us move our resources around that can’t get down the roads because of flooded waters. Today we are not only helping to respond downstream from Forbes, but we’re starting rapid damage assessments,” Ms York said.

At Forbes, more than 600 residents were evacuated as the Lachlan River reached 10.8m on Tuesday afternoon, breaking the town’s 1952 flood record of 10.79m. Forbes mayor Phyllis Miller said floodwaters tore through the town centre, splitting the town in two and causing widespread damage to homes and businesses, with approximately 700 properties damaged.

“We were in recovery mode (after the first flood). We managed to get some clean-up done but now that the floods are back, we’ve gone back into disaster mode,” Ms Miller said.

Premier Dominic Perrottet told reporters no one area of the state was “not at risk of flooding” after another week of historic rainfall, with the Central West back in the “firing line”.

“We were only there two weeks ago. They (Forbes) have gone through flood event after flood event,” he said.

Historic levels of rainfall were also recorded in Cowra after the town received 121mm of rain over the weekend – its highest in more than a century.

In Molong, terrified residents described “an ocean of water” ripping through the town centre shortly before midnight, with dozens of people emptying pubs, ­motels and a caravan before being evacuated to the local RSL.

“We’ve seen the creek break many times over the years, but nothing on this scale and speed,” said Liz Borter, owner of the ­Molong Motor Inn.

“We were sandbagging the motel around 11pm and then (the) next thing you knew the water level was at your shins and the police were telling us to evacuate. The experience was unreal, almost like a tidal wave pouring through the town.”

Emergency services said 150 residents were flown to safety from rooftops in Eugowra and Molong, with 11 helicopters evacuating them to Orange.

Forecasters said a new weather front from South Australia was predicted to hit central and eastern NSW by the weekend, with floodwaters expected to ease despite “volatile conditions”.