NSW floods as it happened: Four dead as rescue operations continue on Mid North Coast; Police criticised by family of woman killed in floodwaters

Thanks for reading our continued live coverage of the major flooding across NSW, where record rainfall has prompted a large-scale emergency response across the Mid North Coast.

This is where we will conclude today’s coverage. To wrap up, here’s a look back at Friday’s developments.

• Four people have died in floodwaters, and an estimated 50,000 people remain isolated.
• The family of the 60-year-old woman killed in floodwaters has criticised the police account of her death.
• As of 8.30pm Friday, there are 31 emergency warnings in place, urging people to evacuate, shelter now or move to higher ground as rivers swell from Newcastle to Coffs Harbour.
• Severe weather warnings have shifted south, with heavy rainfall hitting the Illawarra, South Coast and adjacent inland areas on Friday, before easing into the evening.
• As the threat moves south, parts of the Central Coast are currently under evacuation orders.
• On the Mid North Coast, as rescue activities reduced amid subsiding floodwaters, the SES shifted its focus to re-supplying isolated communities with essentials like food and medicine.
• In Greater Sydney, a risk of flash flooding, storm-related incidents, and minor flooding remains on the Colo, Hawkesbury, Cook and Nepean rivers. The Nepean Dam is currently spilling, while the Warragamba Dam may spill on Saturday.
• The NSW SES has carried out 736 flood rescues since the disaster began.

Among the death and destruction of the floods lashing the state, Mother Nature also decided to put on a show today.

Photographer Kate Geraghty was travelling with emergency workers to the isolated town of Croki, when a rainbow appeared over the Manning River. She captured this lovely shot as rescue worker Kile Nicholas took in the view.

VRA Rescue NSW Regional Operations Manager Kile Nicholas looks at a rainbow over the Manning River at Croki.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Later in the day, as the sun set in Sydney, the dreary weather briefly made way for a spectacular gold-red sky, which was accompanied by a pristine rainbow that spanned the CBD.

Photographers Wolter Peeters and Dylan Coker seized the moment to get the shot of the fleeting scene, before Sydney’s skies promptly turned back to grey.

A rainbow forms over Garden Island after several days of wet weather in Sydney.Credit: Wolter Peeters

A rainbow is seen over Sydney during a break in the rain at sunset.Credit: Dylan Coker

Earlier today, photographer Drew Hopper flew his drone over Macksville, capturing these remarkable images of the floodwaters.

Flooding in Macksville on Friday.Credit: Drew Hopper

A man dragging an esky through flooded streets in Macksville.Credit: Drew Hopper

A row of houses in Macksville.Credit: Drew Hopper

The body of a Mid North Coast man has been found in a burnt-out vehicle near Taree, with authorities not able to access the property for two days because of floodwaters.

The man in his 80s is believed to have perished in a fire on his Cooplacurripa property, about 50km north-west of Taree, on Wednesday.

Welfare concerns were raised after reports of a shed alight on the property, with the man unable to be contacted, but emergency services were unable to access the property because of flooding and landslides blocking access roads.

Air crews eventually accessed the property today, where they discovered the body in a burnt-out vehicle inside a shed.

Specialist forensic officers have been called to examine the scene, and a report is being prepared for the coroner.

The SES has advised residents in low-lying areas along the Hastings River to closely monitor conditions as floodwaters rise again.

The Watch and Act advice was issued to Port Macquarie and surrounds.

Today, the Bureau of Meteorology advised the Hastings River’s water levels could again reach major flooding levels with the high tide in the late afternoon.

The 60-year-old woman whose body was recovered from floodwaters on Thursday has been identified by Nine News as Pauline Fitzsimons, and her family has spoken out to accuse police of “[guiding] her into floodwaters”.

The death was confirmed by police at a Newcastle press conference last night, with Assistant Commissioner David Waddell detailing Fitzsimons’ journey in convoy with a NSW police officer as the pair travelled from Dorrigo towards Coffs Harbour.

Pauline Fitzsimons, 60, was killed in floodwaters near Brooklana, west of Coffs Harbour.Credit: Nine News

“When they reached some floodwaters at Coramba Road, which is near Wild Cattle Creek Bridge, the officer stopped and told the woman he wasn’t continuing,” Waddell said, noting that the water at this point was only ankle-deep, and the officer was in a sedan while Fitzsimons was in a 4WD.

“He gave her his phone number and told her to continue with caution, and not to enter floodwaters.”

About 30 minutes later, Fitzsimons called the officer to inform him she had gotten into trouble in deeper floodwaters. A search was launched, but her body was not recovered until around 2pm the next day. Waddell noted that the officer was “very traumatised” by Fitzsimons’ death.

But in a statement given to Nine News, Pauline’s family criticised the police account. A family statement said the officer “guided her into flood waters and left her to her own devices”.

“We are deeply saddened by the media reports. Hours before she passed, she informed a family member, a police officer told her he knew a safe way through to Coffs Harbour and was escorting her through,” Pauline’s son Tiernan Fitzsimons wrote in the statement.

“The idea that our mother was a reckless driver is a terrible lie, and [we] do not want her to be remembered as such.”

In response to the claims, NSW Police told Nine News that it would launch an investigation to “examine the full circumstances surrounding the incident, the officer’s interactions with the woman prior, and the weather conditions at the time”.

There were grave fears for a 49-year-old man who seemingly disappeared after walking near a flooded roadway in Nymboida, 40km south of Grafton, on Wednesday night.

But in a welcome piece of good news, the man has been found alive and well after a two-day search.

Police first received reports that a man was missing at about 9.20pm on Wednesday. A search effort was launched that night to no avail, with hopes dimming as it continued on Thursday and then again on Friday.

On Friday afternoon, police received reports that the man had been sighted by members of the community. Police attended a property at Kangaroo Creek, around 12km from where the man had last been seen in Nymboida, and found the man “in good spirits”.

There are four confirmed floodwater fatalities.

While much of NSW remains in a state of emergency, Sydney was treated to one of those sunsets you only get on a day of weird weather.

For a brief few minutes, the clouds parted just enough for a strange glow to consume the city, with a perfect rainbow framing the CBD.

Photographer Dylan Coker captured the moment from Balmain.

A rainbow is seen over Sydney during a break in the rain at sunset. Credit: Dylan Coker

Meanwhile, the flooding risk is escalating on the Central Coast, with residents of Tuggerah Lakes including Budgewoi Lake, Lake Munmorah and Tuggerah Lake advised to evacuate now amid a major flood risk.

Tacoma South and Chittaway Point residents are being advised to move to higher ground.

Central Coast flood warnings.Credit: SES

Earlier this afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology advised of the risk of major flooding at Tuggerah Lake. The last update at 3.15pm today found the lake had reached 1.31 metres, just breaching the moderate flood level of 1.3m.

The BoM advised that it was possible Tuggerah Lake could reach the major flood level of 1.6m tonight or into tomorrow.

Several parts of Sydney are now being formally advised to stay informed on the risk of minor flooding on the Nepean, Georges, Hawkesbury and Cook rivers.

The areas now formally Under Advice include Liverpool, Camden, Wallacia, North Richmond, Windsor, Colo, Manangle Bridge, Tempe Bridge and Milperra.

SES flooding advice for Greater Sydney, recorded at 5.24pm today.Credit: NSW SES

The earlier Watch and Act alerts for Gronos Point to prepare to isolate, and Cobbitty and Chipping Norton to prepare to evacuate, remain in place.