Four dead, more than 600 rescues during NSW floods

A bulk resupply is on the cards for NSW communities, as heavy rain moves south and continues to saturate properties.

Four people have died in NSW floodwaters, as the state continues to deploy more emergency workers, volunteers and aerial operations.

NSW SES has answered 5726 incidents during the floods so far, including 678 rescues. There have been 1535 incidents in the past 24 hours to Thursday 5am, and 177 people rescued.

There are 153 warnings in place, with heavy rain expected to move south across the Central Coast, southern coast, Snowy Mountains and Illawarra, while the north coast and Hunter Region would have moderate rain with more major flooding expected.

NSW SES deployed helicopters to transport boats and equipment, and planned bulk resupply to isolated communities. There are more than 2200 volunteers, 200 emergency personnel, 500 boats and nine helicopters on the ground.

Livestock and widespread crop losses were expected, as NSW Farmers vice president Rebecca Reardon said there were ruined roads and waterlogged paddocks.

“We don’t know the full extent of the damage just yet, but we know it’ll take a serious recovery effort to get everyone back on track as farmers absorb some significant production losses and challenges in their businesses,” she said.

Australian Macadamia Society chief executive Claire Hamilton said the region had more than 350mm in two days, on already-saturated soils.

She said growers estimated 20-30 per cent crop loss, with some expecting up to a 50 per cent loss for the year to date.

The SES assistance number is 132 500. In emergencies, call triple-0. For animal welfare or stock assistance, the Agriculture and Animal Services Hotline is on 1800 814 647.

THURSDAY

Rain continues to lash northern NSW communities, as more than 500 people have been rescued from floodwaters.

Meanwhile, flooded macadamia farmers are facing widespread harvest loss as they wait to assess the damage.

Fifty thousand people have been warned to prepare for isolation, as more rain causes further warnings for north coast NSW communities. One person has died, and there are reports of three people missing.

NSW SES recorded 4187 incidents to 5am this morning and 501 flood rescues. There have been 1023 incidents and 339 flood rescues in the past 24 hours.

Kempsey, Coffs Harbour and Nambucca communities could experience flash flooding, with widespread rain expected between 100-150mm, and localised totals of 200-300mm.

NSW SES state duty commander Colin Malone said there were still people in need of rescue at Taree, Glenthorne, Oxley Island and Moto.

NSW premier Chris Minns said there were 2500 emergency workers, including 2200 SES volunteers and professionals.

“It’s one of the largest deployments for a storm cell that we’ve seen in NSW. But, it’s a natural disaster,” Mr Minns said.

Australian Macadamia Society chief executive Claire Hamilton said the rain had been unrelenting for farmers along the mid-north coast.

“It’s been a tricky season across most of the regions, particularly NSW because we had ex-tropical cyclone Alfred, and the heavy rain that came with that. And it’s been raining ever since,” she said.

Ms Hamilton said there had been widespread crop loss, damage to orchard floors and infrastructure damage. Macadamia farmers typically started harvest in late March.

“One of our largest growers in the region has only managed to harvest for three days in the past six weeks. He’s hardly managed to pick up any of his crop,” she said.

“They can’t even get onto the orchards to harvest, if the sun came out today it would take three weeks to dry out the orchard enough to harvest.”

She said in the past 48 hours, growers had recorded 300mm, and had already recorded their annual rain for the region.

“One grower’s estimate of damage to his orchard floor, was about $500,000 of compost and inputs.”

The SES assistance number is 132 500. In emergencies, call triple-0. For animal welfare or stock assistance, the Agriculture and Animal Services Hotline is on 1800 814 647.

WEDNESDAY

A 96-year-old flood record has been broken in New South Wales as unrelenting rain inundates farms and leaves dozens of people needing rescue.

Northern NSW farms have been inundated this week, as heavy rain has broken riverbanks and flooded towns.

Dorrigo farmer David Gibson said farmers were struggling to find quality feed, and faced already-damaged property from Cyclone Alfred after it hit land in March.

He said his farm missed the brunt of it, but had been inundated with rain.

“We got smashed by (cyclone) Alfred. It’s the land of extremes, we’ve had about 2.5 metres of rain for the year, and we do not want another drop, to be honest,” he said.

“It hasn’t dried out enough for us to be able to work the ground, all of it is oversown, we might get a 50 per cent strike rate. But having said that, it’s better than having done nothing.”

Fast-moving floodwaters rose on May 21 in eastern Australia, inundating homes and left people stranded. Picture: AFP PHOTO / NEW SOUTH WALES STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE

The Bureau of Meteorology currently has 21 warnings for NSW, including a severe weather warning for the mid-north coast and northern river region, and a major flood warning for the Nambucca River.

Bureau preparedness and response hazards manager Steve Bernasconi said the Manning River had record-breaking floods, as Taree broke its 1929 flood record of 5.9 metres, reaching 6.7m.

Taree’s total rainfall had reached a new record of 412mm, which was one-third of its annual average rain in two days.

“It is essentially, in two days, five times the monthly rainfall for May in Taree,” he said.

NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said it was “one extreme to another” in NSW.

“Ongoing rain and flooding on the North Coast have brought a fresh wave of damage to farmers just months after the last major event in March,” he said.

“Months of waterlogged paddocks, poor access to fodder and overcast conditions have compounded the effects of successive major rainfall events, which have caused significant production losses and repeated disruption to farm operations in these regions.”

NSW SES northern zone commander, Andrew Cribb said there were 90 current emergency warnings, with current rescue efforts at Manning.

In the past 24 hours, NSW SES received more than 280 flood rescue call-outs, with evacuation warnings at Gladstone, Smithtown, Kempsey, Kinchela and Paterson.

“We will absolutely be seeing flooding throughout the Hastings, Macleay and Nambucca areas and it is going to be happening soon,” Mr Cribb said.

He said they expected severe thunderstorms and intense rain.

Mr Bernasconi said experts expected it to downgrade to a low pressure system on Thursday or Friday. The Bureau expected upstream flows to cause renewed rises.

NSW Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison said there had been 1600 SES volunteers working alongside the Australian Defence Force and other emergency service personnel in response to the floods.

The SES assistance number is 132 500. In emergencies, call triple-0. For animal welfare or stock assistance, the Agriculture and Animal Services Hotline is on 1800 814 647.