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A devastated community who has been hit with its eighth flood in 18 months is among those beginning recovery efforts after record-breaking downpours in parts of New South Wales.
Friday’s torrential rain prompted evacuations and emergency warnings across Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Sydney’s south west and Illawarra areas as rivers flooded and Warragamba Dam spilled.
The federal government today declared the event a disaster.
Windsor is still experiencing moderate flooding while Penrith, North Richmond, Sackville and Putty Road are seeing minor floods.
The swollen Hawkesbury, Nepean and Colo Rivers will begin to fall today and are expected to continue dropping tomorrow, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
In his latest update delivered from Windsor, Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said 5000 emergency volunteers have so far performed 200 rescues.
“It’s fairly blue skies behind me, but that doesn’t mean that the water danger is over, that the threat of flood is over,” he said at a press conference today.
“There’s a thing called the blue sky flood, where all of the water that feeds into from the tributaries, into the local catchment areas basically comes together.”
This week’s flooding was the area’s eighth flood in 18 months.
Local Member for Macquarie Susan Templeman said it was a tough time for the community, especially their farmers who have suffered over the past few years from flood events.
“Their lands are completely inundated and they have only just recovered from a series of floods over the last few years to be getting a really good crop. And now that work is all underwater,” she said.
NSW SES are out across Sydney’s south-west today to take advantage of easing conditions and begin damage assessments and recovery efforts.
Workers have already completed assessments in the Sydney Northern Beaches and Illawarra regions, with 20 properties destroyed and six non-habitable in Illawarra.
Evacuation orders still in place will be lifted for residents to return to their homes and begin recovery efforts after volunteers assess flood-affected areas, NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York said.
“There’s still a lot of roads cut and there’s still a lot of danger out there and that obviously will worsen as the night comes, not with the rain, but with the ability to see what’s on the road and to be able to assess the danger,” she said.
“Again, telling the community not to drive through flood waters, we’ve had way too many rescues required to go and assist people to get out of those flood waters, and there’s been a lot of vision about people being on the roofs of their cars and some really dangerous situations.”
Windsor and North Richmond are still experiencing moderate flooding today at the Hawkesbury and lower Nepean River while the Colo River at Putty Road is seeing minor floods.
The three rivers are expected to fall today and tomorrow.
The disaster declaration announced today gives eligible residents affected by the floods access to grants to restore essential household items and undertake repairs to their home.
The package includes funding for local councils to assist with cleanup costs, emergency accommodation and small cash payments to purchase essential items for flood-affected residents
Local government areas eligible for the funding include the Blue Mountains, Camden, Hawkesbury, Kiama, Liverpool, Penrith, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Sutherland, Upper Lachlan, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong.
There are 23 emergency alerts active across Sydney with the State Emergency Service reporting 1877 incidents including 146 flood rescues In the last 24 hours to 5am today.
A Watch and Act warning is currently in place for flash flooding occurring in northern parts of Coffs Harbour, including low-lying communities at North Boambee.
The SES said heavy rain overnight led Coffs Creek and Newport Creek to rise quickly sparking flash flooding across roads, bridges, causeways and parks.
The Bureau of Meteorology said although rainfall has eased across parts of NSW the weather system has caused flooding in the state’s catchments.
“Flood producing rainfall is no longer expected across NSW,” the Bureau said in an update this morning.
“The inland and coastal trough which brought heavy rainfall has moved southward and will move into the Tasman Sea on Sunday.”
Low-lying parts of Freemans Reach, parts of Cattai, northern part of Pitt Town, Ebenezer, Pitt Town Bottoms were added to the growing list of emergency warnings just before 2am.
Parts of Sackville were among the first to be evacuated, ordered to leave by 10.30pm on Saturday night, while parts of Richmond Lowlands were given until midnight.
Residents in low-lying parts of Freemans reach were told to be out by 1am and parts of Agnes Banks, North of Bligh Park and Angus all had till 2am.
South-east Queensland set for drenching
The Bureau is warning the south-east Queensland region to prepare for isolated heavy falls, possibly between 50 or 60mm.
A total of 100 millimetres could fall across Logan, the Scenic Rim, and the Gold Coast today.
Heavy falls from a storm system had been mostly isolated to Queensland’s north-west but there are fears risk of flooding could intensify if the system combines with a coastal trough.
There is a major flooding warning still in place for the Warrego River in Charleville, which peaked at 7.6 metres.
Flood gates protected Charleville from the worst of the flooding although roads in and out of the town remain flooded.
