By Mary Ward
The wild weather battering NSW’s north is headed south along the coast on Tuesday, with minor flood warnings in place for some Sydney rivers. Six-hourly rainfall totals between 80 and 120 millimetres are likely south of Gosford.
On Tuesday, a low-pressure system will form off the northern NSW coast before moving south and deepening into an east coast low, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.
The Warragamba Dam on Monday.Credit: Nick Moir
The bureau is expecting “heavy to torrential rain” to affect Sydney, the Illawarra and the South Coast from Tuesday evening.
Rainfall of between 40 and 70mm is forecast for Sydney on Tuesday, with gusty winds from the afternoon and into the evening. Up to 90mm of rainfall is possible in the city on Wednesday.
State Emergency Services Commissioner Carlene York said on Monday afternoon that, even with the best forecasting, it was tricky to know exactly which areas would be worst affected.
“The issues with these types of east coast lows is that it just depends where it goes – how close to the coast and what path it travels. And then the unknown is where it will actually drop the heaviest rainfall,” she said.
She said on Tuesday morning that comments at budget estimates that Parks and Wildlife had five helicopters that had not been called on for the rescue effort were misinformed.
“It’s naive to think that a helicopter pilot, because they can pilot a helicopter, can do a rescue,” she said.
In addition to several major flood warnings for rivers in the state’s north, the bureau issued a flood watch on Monday afternoon for the Mid North Coast, the Central Coast, Greater Sydney, the Illawarra and the South Coast. Minor to moderate flooding is possible in these areas.
Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said the scenes in northern NSW had never been seen before and were “truly distressing”.
“We must all prepare ourselves for the possibility that lives have been lost,” Ms Cooke said.
“Whilst I would love to think, and I truly hope, that we will not see any deaths from this event, I think that it is unrealistic that a disaster of this magnitude will mean that there are no lives lost.“
There is a severe weather warning for damaging winds and heavy rainfall on Tuesday for the regions in yellow.
Ms Cooke said people in Sydney and on the South Coast “have time” and should be on alert and evacuate if asked to.
“We don’t make these decisions lightly. They are based on the good information, the best information we have available at the time. So I would implore people to prepare,” she said.
Flood scenes devastating: Premier
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Tuesday morning the images of flood-affected areas were “devastating”, praising the “spirit of the people of the Northern Rivers” in challenging circumstances.
“We’ve seen people stranded on roofs for hours, we’ve seen children being rescued, we’re seeing people stranded on bridges. But importantly as well, we’re also seeing a community come together,” he said.
He promised to get communities “back on their feet as quickly as possible”, thanking the 550 SES volunteers working to perform rescues in the area.
Natural disaster declarations have been made for 17 council areas in the region, allowing for the immediate provision of financial support, Mr Perrottet said.
“Today we’re focused on rescue. That is our number one focus from a state government level, from a council level and a Commonwealth level,” he said, noting this would “very quickly move to recovery”.
“We are focused on getting people back on their feet into temporary accommodation and then ensuring that the clean-up and the construction is already under way.”
In Sydney, there are minor flooding warnings for the upper Nepean River, Cooks River, Georges and Woronora Rivers and St George Basin.
Ferries are not running between Parramatta and Rydalmere on Tuesday due to flooding and debris in the Parramatta River. The city’s train network is currently running as normal.
A hazardous surf warning is in place for the entire state’s coast, with the NSW Police Force’s Marine Area Command advising the public to avoid swimming and surfing.
Conditions will ease in Sydney on Thursday, with light showers over the weekend.
There were more evacuation orders on Tuesday morning, with residents of South Ballina asked to leave their homes before 7am.
Fitzsimmons defends Resilience NSW
Former Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons has defended the Resilience NSW organisation, which he had headed since its creation two years ago.
Reporters at Tuesday’s press conference asked Mr Fitzsimmons if taxpayers were getting value for money from the organisation, noting little preparation appeared to have been done before the flooding event in northern NSW.
“Our focus right now is to support the SES in their lead role with the ongoing response effort,” he said, adding “this flood will go on for weeks but the recovery will go on for months and years”.
He said he was “comfortable with whatever scrutiny” would be applied to his role but he believed the role of Resilience NSW was more focused on recovery than the immediate response.
With Josh Dye
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