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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Cait Kelly, Matilda Boseley and Royce Kurmelovs (earlier)

Sydney spared worst of rain but Newcastle still under threat – as it happened

New South Wales Sydney Windsor Queensland Australia Bureau of Meteorology Ukraine Brisbane (Geopolitical Entity) Hawkesbury Newcastle

What we learned – 3 March 2022

And with that, we are going to put this blog to bed. Thank you so much for going through all the big stories with us today.

Before we go, let’s do a re-cap:

We will see you tomorrow!

Updated

Roughly half a million people have been told to evacuate their homes in New South Wales as disastrous floods continue, but lower than expected rainfall has brought some reprieve for those in the path of the spilling Warragamba Dam, AAP reports.

About 130,000 households were told on Thursday afternoon the volume of water surging out of the dam won’t be the same as seen during devastating floods in 2021.

It was predicted that about 600 gigalitres of water would spill, but with less rainfall in the catchment area than expected, WaterNSW announced the forecast had been revised down to between 300 and 350GL a day.

That’s below the 440GL a day that surged out of the dam during flooding last year.

“This prediction is still subject to advice from the Bureau of Meteorology and will be ultimately determined by the intensity of the rain event and the inflows generated,” WaterNSW said on Thursday.

Most dams in Greater Sydney have spilled, including all dams in the Upper Nepean region.

While the Warragamba Dam spill has been revised down, several rivers are still above their major flood level or approaching it.

Moderate to major flooding is expected in western Sydney along the Hawkesbury, Nepean and Georges rivers, and the Colo and Macdonald rivers at Menangle, North Richmond, Penrith and Windsor, with dozens of suburbs on high alert.

Updated

From AAP:

Australia is joining an international push to strip Russia and Belarus of bidding rights for international sporting events, and restrict their athletes from competition.

The sports minister, Richard Colbeck, will join counterparts from the UK, the US, Canada and Europe to discuss further measures to isolate Russia.

Colbeck welcomed the push from the UK government, saying he agreed with the objectives put forward.

“Athletes and teams representing Russia or Belarus are not welcome in Australia,” he said.

“In addition to what has been put forward, I will also be seeking agreement from other ministers that neither Russia or Belarus should be permitted to bid for future international sport events.”

Australia also joined another international push to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine, joining with 38 other nations to refer possible war crimes to the International Criminal Court.

Updated

More on Helen Dalton’s resignation, from AAP:

Dalton has confirmed her intention is to remain on the lower house crossbench as an independent.

The NSW member for the seat of Murray had resigned from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party after her upper house party colleagues did not show up for a crucial vote.

“I’ve always said I’d put my electorate ahead of my party,” Dalton said when she announced her resignation.

“Last week, upper house SFF party MPs did not show up for a crucial vote on floodplain harvesting,” she said.

She said that meant “dodgy National party law changes that allowed for excessive water take in the northern basin” passed parliament.

The laws will disadvantage communities and irrigators in the lower Darling and Murray river system, she said.

She said she plans to stay in parliament as an independent and won’t be aligning with other parties or MPs.

Updated

The Australian National University has released a statement “strongly” condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens the peace, freedom and democracy on which freedom of inquiry and academic collaboration is based.

The University is therefore suspending all ties and activities with Russian institutions, indefinitely and with immediate effect.

We identify with those brave Russian academics and students who oppose President Putin’s unprovoked aggression.

We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people in their defence of sovereignty and freedom and offer our support for the universities of Ukraine.

ANU acknowledges that this is a very difficult time for our Ukrainian staff and students and for those who have family members, friends and colleagues in Ukraine. We commit to support all those in our community whose lives are affected by this aggression.

ANU is proud to stand alongside other universities across the world that have already committed to similar actions, and to the sentiments expressed in this statement. We urge institutions of all types across Australia to join us.

Updated

NSW politics has had another defection, with the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party losing one of their two lower house MPs.

The member for Murray, Helen Dalton, has decided to resign from the party and sit as an independent. If she is still a state MP, it’s likely she will run as an independent at next March’s state elections.

Dalton has long been at odds with some of her party’s water policies. A difference over the party’s stance on flood-plain harvesting rights was the final straw, her office says.

Mind you, the party itself isn’t happy, sending out a media release saying her position “was no longer tenable with the SFF party given the inconsistencies with her own farming and water-trading activities”. Tensions had been simmering for some time.

Dalton, though, may yet take a tilt at federal politics. Should the Liberal member for Farrer, Sussan Ley, not win pre-selection amid the ongoing battles within her party, Dalton may throw her hat in that ring ahead of May’s federal election.

Updated

SA reports five Covid deaths and 2,307 cases; ACT records 690 cases

We have an update from South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory on Covid cases.

SA has reported five Covid deaths in the last 24 hours and 2,307 new cases.

The deaths include a man and a woman in their 40s, a woman in her 60s, a man in his 70s and a man in his 90s.

There are 104 people in hospital in the state and of those nine are in ICU. One person is on a ventilator.

The ACT has recorded 690 new Covid-19 cases.

There are 39 people in hospital with the virus in Canberra, and of those, two are in ICU.

Updated

More federal flood recovery funding for NSW and Queensland

The federal government will provide further flood support measures for NSW and is finalising financial aid to Queensland, as the natural disaster intensifies across two states, AAP reports.

The commonwealth will give more than $434 million to help communities in NSW clean up the damage from the floods, which will also be supported by the state government.

Prime minister Scott Morrison said the government had also requested a proposal of projects from Queensland to help with recovery efforts.

“We will be there to help farmers, small businesses and every community in New South Wales to get back on their feet as soon as possible when flood waters recede,” Mr Morrison said in a statement.

“We are working with Queensland on what support will be made available under Category D funding, ensuring communities receive the funding they require to rebuild.”

Morrison said a second support package was also being proposed for NSW.

“This initial package is in addition to the federally funded $1000 disaster relief payment and the 13-week income replacement for employees and small business,” Morrison said.

Since the flooding disaster, $62.7 million in disaster recovery payments have been provided in relation to 52,000 claims lodged with the federal government.

Updated

UAP Senate candidate withdraws nomination so he's free to praise Putin

Sean Ambrose, a United Australia party Senate candidate for New South Wales, says he has withdrawn his nomination to run for the party, saying he wanted to be free to praise Vladimir Putin.

The announcement comes after Ambrose attracted attention by appearing to defend Putin in a tweet on Saturday, in response to another post critical of the Russian leader being a member of the World Economic Forum.

The global organisation has been a key focus of online conspiracy theories, particularly those about a supposed “great reset” plot against humanity.

Last week the UAP disendorsed its Macnamara candidate, Jefferson Earl, for his pro-Putin views, with the party leader, Craig Kelly, saying: “It is very important that the entire world is united in condemning Putin’s conduct to the Ukraine.”

This afternoon Ambrose tweeted:

“I have withdrawn my nomination as a senate candidate with the @UnitedAusParty . I do not support the acts of aggression by @NATO against the people of #Ukraine and it’s creation of a pariah state and I commend Putin ( @KremlinRussia_E ) for his fight against the New World Order.”

For more on this issue, see yesterday’s story from my colleagues Josh Butler and Sarah Martin:

Updated

The head of the New South Wales Transport department has produced a dossier of documents he claims showed staff in transport minister David Elliott’s office – including his chief of staff – were fully briefed about last week’s rail shutdown, despite the minister’s claim he was left in the dark about the closure.

And it’s confirmed – Neighbours will end production in June. Amanda Meade has the full story:

Updated

The BOM has just issued a number of new flood warnings for NSW.

South-east Queensland again on flood watch as storms loom

South-east Queensland is on flood watch with dangerous thunderstorms looming that could trigger “life-threatening floods” just days after the region’s worst deluge in a decade, AAP reports.

Large parts of the region remain underwater and residents have barely started to clean up after floods which killed nine people and damaged more than 17,000 homes and businesses.

Police are still searching for an elderly man who fell from a boat into the swollen Brisbane River near Breakfast Creek on Saturday afternoon.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says people living from Brisbane’s north to Bundaberg should collect their children from school as soon as it’s safe to do so.

On Friday state schools across the entire southeast region will only open for children of essential workers.

“These are unprecedented times,” the premier told reporters.

“It is extremely unstable weather conditions and, as a precaution, we would like our people to collect their children when they think it is safe to go out on the road and do so.”

Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks to the media in Brrisbane today about the flood risks in Queensland.
Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks to the media in Brrisbane today about the flood risks in Queensland. Photograph: Russell Freeman/AAP

Updated

After the bitter stoush today over where Services Australia staff were (and were not) deployed into flood zones, Labor MPs in Brisbane have welcomed news they’ll get more help for people in their electorates.

Opposition MPs including Jim Chalmers, Terri Butler, Murray Watt and Graham Perrett had complained that Services Australia staff weren’t in their local areas to help flood victims apply for Centrelink payments.

The government services minister Linda Reynolds denied the placement of staff was politically-motivated, blasting Labor for “playing cheap politics” with the disaster.

Reynolds’s office said Services Australia workers were being deployed mostly into evacuation centres, but said there were no such centres in the Labor-held electorates of Rankin, Griffith, Oxley and Moreton.

Applications for help are also able to be made online, on the phone or in-person at Centrelink offices. But Butler complained that people in her electorate had no power and therefore couldn’t use their phones, and it was difficult to travel physically to Centrelink offices due to flooded roads.

Perrett called the situation “the lowest dog act ever”.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese (left) and Griffith MP Terri Butler (right) inspect flood damage at the Hawthorne ferry terminal in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese (left) and Griffith MP Terri Butler (right) inspect flood damage at the Hawthorne ferry terminal in Brisbane on Wednesday. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Butler suggested to authorities that Services Australia staff could be deployed to other locations besides evacuation centres, like community centres, to help out.

She told Guardian Australia she’d been informed that a community centre in the West End area of her electorate would be visited by Services Australia staff on Friday morning. Perrett’s office said they’d also suggested suitable locations to federal authorities.

We’ve contacted Services Australia for comment. Butler said she was relieved, but frustrated at the delay.

“It shouldn’t have taken days of pushing from us ... it shouldn’t have taken me cracking the shits at a flood briefing. It’s now Thursday in the middle of the day,” she said.

“I had no intention of trying to be partisan in this disaster and I’m still seeking to avoid it where I can. But where things are obviously not being done and there’s an obvious disproportionate response between government and non-government electorates, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t calling that out.”

Updated

The clean up continues in Lismore as residents count the damage from the floods. Here are some photos that capture what people are going through in the NSW town.

Cate Delany stands in her flood-affected apartment in Lismore on Thursday.
Cate Delany stands in her flood-damaged apartment in Lismore on Thursday. Photograph: Dan Peled/Getty Images
Debris has fallen from the ceiling at this flood-ravaged business.
Debris has fallen from the ceiling at this flood-ravaged business. Photograph: Dan Peled/Getty Images
Dion, who only gave her first name, wears gumboots in her kitchen.
Dion, who only gave her first name, wears gumboots in her kitchen. Photograph: Dan Peled/Getty Images

Australia asks tech giants to block content from Russian state media

The Australian government is asking a range of digital platforms – including Facebook, Twitter and Google – to block content generated by Russian state media.

The request comes days after reports that Facebook, TikTok and Microsoft have been cracking down on Kremlin-backed news outlets RT and Sputnik, in response to a European Union ban on Russian state media.

Australia’s communications minister, Paul Fletcher, wrote this afternoon to Meta (which runs Facebook and Instagram), Apple, TikTok, Twitter, Snap Inc, Reddit, Google and Microsoft asking them to take action “as a priority to suspend the dissemination on your platform[s] in Australia of content generated by Russian state media organisations”.

Fletcher cites “a significant volume of such content promoting violence, extremism and disinformation in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.

In the letters, he says:

A number of platforms have taken action to block such services and content in the United States and Europe.

In Australia, the Special Broadcasting Service and Foxtel recently suspended the broadcast of Russia Today and NTV. Given the current actions of the Russian Government, and the lack of genuinely independent Russian media, these actions are responsible and appropriate.

In light of the exceptional circumstances that are unfolding in Ukraine, and in the interests of protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Australian Government asks that [your platform] takes such action in respect of content disseminated on your platform[s] in Australia.

I would be grateful to receive your early advice as to the steps you have taken to achieve this outcome.

Earlier, the US government accused the Kremlin of “a full assault on media freedom and the truth”, after Russia’s Prosecutor General ordered the communications authority RosKomNadzor to restrict access to the independent outlets Radio Ekho Moskvy and Dozhd TV.

Updated

Sydney spared worst of rain but Newcastle still under threat

Sydney and the Illawarra have been spared the worst of the rain and wind from an east coast low that end up shifting westwards over the Newcastle region rather than traipsing southwards along the coast.

But Newcastle remains under a severe weather warning with falls of as 60 to 100mm possible over six hours, with flashflooding a risk.

And major flooding remains possible at Windsor on the Hawkesbury-Nepean River because of the heavy rains in the catchment areas. The major flooding at North Richmond may be close to its peak, the bureau said in its most recent update.

Authorities had to prepare for the worst as the catchment behind Warragamba Dam had received a lot of rain, but Thursday saw it mercifully reduced.

The gauge at the dam itself collected 237mm of rain in the 48 hours to 9am Thursday but has had only 5mm up to 3pm since, Ben Domensino, a senior meteorologist at Weatherzone, said.

Flooding partially submerged Windsor Bridge today, north-west of Sydney.
Flooding partially submerged Windsor Bridge today, north-west of Sydney. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

The east coast low itself had developed into three separate areas of circulation just off the coast.

“That means it’s not a strong and well defined low pressure system and this is weakening near the coast,” Domensino said.

The Hunter will see ongoing rain but for Sydney and the central coast there should only be showers. “Those showers won’t be doing too much to raise river levels” near Sydney, he says.

Phew (if you’re in Sydney)! So we can start to mop up and relax, right? Well, maybe not.

“There’s another upper-level low-pressure system that’s crossing southeastern Australia this weekend,” Domensino says. “Some models are suggesting that that will cause heavier rain to redevelop from Sunday over eastern NSW and into Monday with the potential for another low-pressure system forming near the coast early next week on Monday or Tuesday.”

We’ve seen there’s a lot of uncertainty about predicting rainfall totals only a few hours out, so we need to be extra cautious about four or five days out. Still, another east coast low is something nobody needs.

Updated

Police say they are still analysing one of two suspicious packages found at the Russian embassy in Canberra earlier today. Australian Capital Territory Policing has issued the following update:

About 10.05 this morning (Thursday 3 March 2022), ACT Policing and ACT Fire & Rescue were called to a suspicious package incident at the Russian Embassy in Griffith.

A cordon was put in place while the contents of two packages were analysed.

The contents of one package will require further analysis while the contents of a second package was determined to be non-suspicious.

The cordon around the facility was removed at about 3.30pm.

ACT Policing says its investigation in under way, and urges anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, adding:

ACT Policing reminds the community that sending threatening or malicious material through the mail is an offence and will be investigated accordingly.

Emergency services outside the Russian embassy in Canberra after a suspicious package was found.
Emergency services outside the Russian embassy in Canberra after a suspicious package was found. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

NT records three Covid deaths and 559 new cases

From AAP:

Three more people have died with Covid-19 in the Northern Territory.

SecureNT says two women aged in their 60s and 70s have died with the virus along with a man in his 60s.

There have now been 26 virus-related deaths in the territory since the start of the pandemic.

NT also reported another 559 infections on Thursday.

There are 48 people in hospital with the virus including two in intensive care.

The number of active cases stands at 3,833.

Updated

Save the Children is expanding its response to major flooding on Australia’s east coast by setting up spaces for children in New South Wales evacuation centres.

A space has been set up at Canley Vale evacuation centre, in Sydney’s west, and a team deployed to northern NSW to work across evacuation centres in the flood-hit region. The agency stands ready to expand its response.

Spaces have also been set up in Brisbane and Ipswich, where communities have also been devastated by widespread flooding.

Save the Children Australia’s executive director for Australian services, Matt Gardiner, said:

Thousands of children are being forced to flee to safety with their families as flood waters rise in towns and cities up and down the east coast.

Experiencing a disaster like flooding on this scale, and all the uncertainty that it brings, can be incredibly distressing for a child.

Our child friendly spaces allow children to leave behind any stress or anxiety, so they can express themselves through play, socialise and simply be kids.

After a highly stressful two years when communities have already been grappling with Covid-19, floods and bushfires, children who face compounding distress or trauma will likely need ongoing support.

Updated

We’re just getting a bit more detail on the fuel shortages in parts of NSW, which are making life even harder for locals in flood-affected regions.

Ampol says five of its stores have now been shut across the north coast and northern rivers regions, including two stores in Lismore.

The issue isn’t supply – there’s plenty of fuel in the region. But road closures and access difficulties are continuing to create barriers for customers and supply trucks.

An Ampol spokesperson said:

Five Ampol retail stores across the north coast and northern rivers regions including our two stores in Lismore are closed due to floods and a number of our employees have been directly impacted.

While there are no issues with the availability of fuel across northern NSW, supply is limited in some of the impacted areas due to road closures. Our supply teams continue to work directly with emergency services to ensure there is fuel available for the emergency response.

Updated

The Ballina shire council has used a front-end loader to carry food from the flooded Foodbank to a temporary food co-op at a local church, as the northern NSW town faces its third day without access to its major supermarkets.

The main supermarkets in Ballina remain under water. The mayor, Sharon Caldewater, said she had been told that the freight routes would be reopened on Thursday afternoon, but that will not help until the flood waters receded.

The council has moved non-perishable food on canoes and a front-end loader to the Uniting church in Cherry street, where volunteers have set up a temporary food bank.

“I saw a 92-year-old man go down one of the main streets on his gopher, get off his gopher and start looking around,” Caldewater said. “I asked him what he was doing and he said, ‘I am looking for food’.

“We know of one person in a motel in town who has had nothing but bread to eat for three days”.

Caldewater said the town was in urgent need of non-perishable food and access to basic services including power, internet and phones. Electricity repair workers have been driving around the town all day trying to reconnect areas where it is safe to do so. As we spoke, the lights above the school turned back on.

She said people are starting to feel the strain. It’s too soon to say how many houses have been damaged – much of South Ballina, West Ballina and small outlying communities have been badly affected.

“It’s pretty bad, there’s no putting a sugar coating on it,” she said. “Having said that, the community has been amazing.

She was particularly concerned about the impact on homeless people in the town. The housing crisis in Ballina has been building throughout the pandemic, and was declared a health risk before the floods hit.

The council is aware of up to 200 homeless people who lost their campsites and most of their possessions in the flood.

“There’s going to be a lot of people in the community without accommodation … I don’t know where we are going to find that accommodation,” she said. “We have got a massive problem with homelessness. This is just going to really add to the existing problem that we’ve got. It’s going to be horrific.”

Water began draining out of Ballina again as the high tide receded on Thursday afternoon, but Caldewater said houses were expected to flood again when the tide returned. The floodwaters peaked at about 1.8 metres on Thursday, below the 2.3 metre mark hit yesterday.

“It’s going to be slow moving out from Ballina, I have been told,” she said. “I am sitting in a side street now where the water on both sides of the road has receded, but it will come back with the tides.”

Updated

Australians donated $922,226 over the last seven days to the Ukraine Crisis Appeal, which is raising much needed aid for the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion.

The director of Humanitarian Aid Initiatives at Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, Diahanna Senko, said:

The Ukraine Crisis Appeal is working with our existing partner Caritas to immediately distribute humanitarian supplies to Ukraine. Funds have already been transferred to assist with the purchase and provision of food, clean water, blankets, emergency housing, clothing, medical assistance and more.

The UNHCR says one million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion less than a week ago, an exodus without precedent in this century for its speed. The UN agency has also predicted that up to four million people, or even more, could eventually leave Ukraine. There are warnings this could become the biggest refugee crisis this century

Following a request from the Ukrainian Embassy in Australia, we have also opened a bank account for donations for non-lethal military aid for the Ukrainian military. This will include clothing, food, water and medical assistance for the Ukrainian military.

Updated

Federal Labor MP Anthony Byrne to quit politics

Long-standing federal Labor MP Anthony Byrne will retire at the upcoming election, AAP reports.

Byrne, who has held the Melbourne seat of Holt since 1999, was under increasing pressure to quit politics.

He was a whistleblower on branch stacking allegations involving disgraced Victorian state Labor MP Adem Somyurek.

During a corruption inquiry in Victoria last year, Byrne admitted to engaging in branch stacking and using taxpayer-funded parliamentary staff to create fake branch members.

The revelations led to him stepping down from his role on parliament’s intelligence committee but he resisted calls to step away from federal politics.

But Byrne wrote to the ALP’s national secretary on Thursday advising he would not be a candidate at the upcoming election.

The federal Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, thanked Byrne for his contribution to the party.

“Anthony Byrne’s decision to not stand as a candidate at the forthcoming election means that parliament will be losing one of its truly dedicated servants,” Albanese said.

Labor’s national executive will oversee the preselection process as it is currently overseeing the Victorian branch.

Updated

The scenes at Perth airport this morning would have put Love Actually to shame.

A man and woman embrace at Perth airport
After two years of strict border controls Western Australia finally opened to travellers today. Photograph: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Updated

From AAP:

A witness said crowds unnecessarily spooked miracle NSW flood survivor Carol the cow, leading to her being shot dead by police earlier this week.

The brown bovine unexpectedly emerged from monstrous surf on Duranbah Beach on the Queensland border on Tuesday morning after being washed up to 30km down the flooded Tweed River.

A few dozen locals gathered on the beach to gawk at the unexpected animal with police arriving on the scene shortly after.

Farm Animal Rescue organised with authorities to pick up the frightened and confused cow in a horse float and take her back to their property north-west of Brisbane.

Channel Nine weather reporter Luke Bradnam, said while they were waiting for panels to funnel her into the float to arrive, a woman stepped forward to get a photo which made the cow bolt off.

“This absolute moron came out with her phone, took a snapshot of it, and the cattleman that I was with ... he turned to me and said: ‘This is what the end result [shooting] is going to be for the cow, they’ll have no choice, spook now, and it won’t be able to compose itself’, and it’s exactly what happened,” Bradnam told Triple M.

Farm Animal Rescue said Carol the cow, who was highly agitated due to the large crowd, was then chased by some young people further into the suburban streets of the border towns of Tweed Heads and Coolangatta.

The volunteers tried to keep her off the roads for 13 hours, but said that NSW police seemed content to let her roam.

“They have just left her to run around the suburbs,” Farm Animal Rescue said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

“This grieving mother has suffered so much, this on-going torture is so unnecessary and so cruel. We have named her Carol, so however this works out she will always have a name.”

Updated

We’ve got an update from the BoM here:

Updated

From AAP:

Around half a million people in NSW are subject to evacuation orders or warnings as the focus of the state’s unprecedented flood crisis moves south, with Greater Sydney, the Hunter and the Central Coast copping a deluge.

Emergency services minister, Steph Cooke, said those regions were facing “treacherous weather conditions”, with the next 24 hours critical.

The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, said the floods in the Hawkesbury region “will be worse than they were last year”.

Along with the wash-up from the destructive floods in the Northern Rivers, the state was facing “a battle on two fronts”, he said.

We do believe that things will get worse before they get better. But my message to you is that we will get through this.

The Bureau of Meteorology said rainfall levels could hit a peak of 250mm and warned of life-threatening flash flooding and damaging winds with peak gusts in excess of 90km/h.

Updated

WA records one death to Covid and 2,423 new cases

As Western Australia’s hard border comes down the state has recorded one Covid death and 2420 new cases.

There are 22 people in hospital.

Updated

After a number of devastating deaths as a result of the Queensland flood crisis, an in-home aged care provider is urging NSW elderly residents to get prepared or evacuate.

The chief executive of Australia’s largest home care provider MyHomeCare Group, Stuart Miller, is urging NSW residents to be ready for the worst:

These floods have had a devastating impact on communities with many of our QLD clients and staff experiencing flooding in their homes.

Our staff have been working around the clock making welfare checks on clients and redirecting support workers to temporary locations.

Preparing to evacuate can be a big task for an older Australian but support providers, as well as families and communities, must work together to ensure these people are safe.

We urge NSW residents as weather movements head south to get ahead and not wait until it’s too late.

Updated

National Covid summary

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 47 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 690
  • In hospital: 39 (with 2 people in ICU)

NSW

  • Deaths: 9
  • Cases: 11,338
  • In hospital: 1,035 (with 43 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

  • Deaths: 3
  • Cases: 559
  • In hospital: 48 (with 2 people in ICU)

Queensland

  • Deaths: 6
  • Cases: 6,479
  • In hospital: 315 (with 26 people in ICU)

South Australia

  • Deaths: 5
  • Cases: 690
  • In hospital: 104 (with 9 people in ICU)

Victoria

  • Deaths: 23
  • Cases: 7,093
  • In hospital: 262 (with 33 people in ICU)

Western Australia

  • Deaths: 1
  • Cases: 2,423
  • In hospital: 22 (with 9 people in ICU)

Updated

The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has announced the federal government will not be building the four commuter car parks promised in his electorate of Kooyong, which were slated to cost $65m.

In a statement, Frydenberg said the urban congestion fund was designed to alleviate pressures on the road network by improving access to public transport, with car parks planned for Surrey Hills, Canterbury, Glenferrie and Camberwell stations.

He said:

At the end of 2019 the Victorian government announced that it was going to merge the Surrey Hills and Mont Albert stations. As a result, the commitment to build the commuter carpark at Surrey Hills cannot go ahead as proposed. In regard to the proposed car parks at Canterbury, Glenferrie and Camberwell the council conducted a public consultation process which generated significant local feedback.

During this period, I also met with a number of local residents and traders and listened to the issues they have raised. Further to these conversations and discussions with council, the federal government has decided not to proceed with funding for the proposed car parks at Canterbury, Glenferrie and Camberwell.

Frydenberg said the urban congestion fund “remains an important part of the government’s plans” and that 70% of them will be under construction (or finished) by the end of 2022.

Updated

Warragamba Dam spill rate not expected to reach worst-case scenario

More on Warragamba Dam. The spill so far has reached a rate of 225 gigalitres a day, and the predicted peak is now a rate of 300 to 350GL a day, or half the worst-case scenario.

That will be of relief to authorities and those households and businesses that might now avoid the worst of the flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean River near Sydney.

The updated flood warning for that river from the BoM said major flooding continues along the Hawkesbury and lower Nepean rivers and major flooding at North Richmond where levels are approaching a peak.

“River levels are continuing to rise at Windsor where major flooding may develop Thursday evening,” the BoM said.

“Further heavy rainfall is forecast today and into Friday which may result in extended and possibly higher major flood peaks. River levels at North Richmond are expected to remain below those observed during the March 2021 event.”

Slightly dated data but the New South Wales State Emergency Services received a total of 11,747 requests for assistance as of 5.30am on Thursday since the start of this event, or 1462 more of them since 3.30pm on Wednesday.

The SES has also made 1655 flood rescues since the start of this event as of 5.30am. Remember, don’t drive into floodwaters.

S&P yesterday estimated the final bill from the flood devastation would approach $2b, but that was before Sydney and the central NSW coastal region’s turn at being soaked, buffeted and so on.

Updated

Foster:

When we started this event, Wivenhoe Dam was sort of a tick over half full.

So we had half of that drinking water capacity available to us as well as the entire flood compartment available to us.

We really started this event in a very different position than we did certainly back in 2011. I just remind people that the size of our temporary flood storage, it’s enormous.

It’s double our drinking water capacity. So we have the significant capability of holding back large amounts of floodwater, temporarily. And that’s the design of Wivenhoe Dam – it’s not a drinking water dam, it’s a flood mitigation ...

The job of the dam is to reduce the inflows of what would have been the natural flows down the river, reduce those and effectively reduce the flooding in Brisbane as a result of that.

Updated

Foster said the flows from the Wivenhoe Dam have been restricted given the unstable weather patterns now affecting south-east Queensland.

Certainly from the BoM’s perspective, they seem to be from the point of view that showers from tomorrow and less rainfall is forecast. But again as we been saying all this week for us, it’s about rain on ground and we make our decisions based on that.

Updated

Foster:

We have certainly over the last three or four days been able to move quite a considerable amount of water down the mid-Brisbane River. So almost 1m megalitres of water. Again, stressing that certainly there’s been no impact, no increase in flooding as a result of those flows.

Really steady controlled flows. So at the moment, we probably got about 70% of our flood compartment that’s effectively been emptied. So we got about 30% we got to move out over the next sort of three or four days.

Updated

Foster is asking people to conserve water over the weekend.

In terms of water supply, our production at Mount Crosby is continuing to hold. I think we’re reducing about 300 megalitres of water a day.

We still haven’t got it quite to full production. We certainly have the benefit of the water grid in action over the last few days so our Gold Coast desalination plant has been in production and we’re moving as much water as we can from the Gold Coast into Brisbane to really help offset what’s occurring at Crosby at the moment.

We’re really needing the community to continue to conserve water into the weekend. Look, I appreciate that in some cases, people already moving to clean-up and we absolutely understand the importance of water supply and water to the clean-up.

Just asking people just to be mindful of their water use as we continue to try and get Mount Crosby back up to that full production.

Updated

Foster says the control flows they are emptying should not impact the flooding in the Brisbane River.

The BoM [is] certainly indicating to us today that we have probably seen the worst of that weather but, look, we need to continue to watch that pretty closely.

Certainly the releases that we have been putting into the mid-Brisbane River have certainly not exacerbated the flooding that Brisbane is already experiencing and certainly our intention as we bring the flood compartment and empty that flood compartment in the next few days, our intention is we’ll not see those releases ... exacerbate what’s occurring downstream.

Updated

In Queensland, Mike Foster from Seqwater is talking now about Wivenhoe Dam:

When we start to manage Wivenhoe Dam, we really take a very close look at what’s occurring downstream particularly the Lockyer and Bremer.

The rainfall that we saw this morning certainly indicates that we might just see those rivers rise as a result of that rainfall and we have been able to reduce our flows out of Wivenhoe and those reduced flows will continue and we watch what occurs with the Bremer and the Lockyer.

Updated

Rescue pups Bella and Bear made the most of a patch of sunshine and receding flood waters with their owner Coby at the Vale of Ah reserve in Milperra.

Coby has been bringing the dogs down to this park everyday for years and has never seen it so flooded.

He said he needed to get them out of the house while he still could:

Dogs are very simple people. They love it down here and they love the water. We’ve got to find the fun in all of this.

The playing fields at the park were also inundated.

Coby with Bella and Bear (right) enjoy the receding floodwaters at the dog park at Vale of Ah reserve in Milperra on the Georges River this morning. Photograph by Mike Bowers.
Coby with his dogs Bella and Bear enjoy the receding flood waters at the dog park. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

We have updated our river heights chart with the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers, showing the flood water levels at each location.

You can also use the dropdown to show the river heights in areas where the flood waters have receded, such as Queensland and northern NSW. This data is not updated in real time, so please check the Bureau of Meteorology or State Emergency Services if you think you might need to evacuate.

Updated

Hello everyone – this is Cait Kelly. It’s a big day in news, so let’s just jump straight into it. If you want to flag anything you can contact me on Twitter: @cait__kelly.

First up, I have today’s east coast flood event insurance update from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA).

The ICA today said insurers have received 60,163 claims related to the ongoing flooding in south-east Queensland and New South Wales.

This is a 25% increase on yesterday’s claims count.

Queenslanders made 46,235 of these claims and 13,928 are from NSW. NSW figures are expected to increase in coming days given the current flood emergency impacting in and around Sydney.

83% of all claims relate to property, with the remainder relating to motor vehicles.

Based on previous flood events the current cost of claims is estimated to be approximately $900m.

The chief executive of ICA, Andrew Hall, said:

This is an ongoing and severe weather event, so it is still too early to predict where it will end.

These severe weather systems have been impacting the east coast now for more than a week and are still very active across all regions.

Despite that, insurers are working closely with local, state and federal governments to ensure that insurers are fully coordinated in the recovery process that is starting to commence in communities up and down the coast.

I urge all impacted policyholders to contact their insurer via phone or online as soon as possible, so we can ensure all available help and assistance can be provided, including short-term accommodation or help with food and essentials.

Updated

And that’s all from me today – zipping in, zipping out. I’ll hand over now to the omnipotent Cait Kelly who will take you through the rest of the afternoon.

Updated

Vin Lam owns Le Pain cafe on the main street of Windsor and says many young people have given up on the flood-prone area.

“Every time it happens, it’s bad for the businesses, especially the farmers,” he says. “They’re losing all their equipment, it’s terrible.

“This year the flood is worse. Last year, the flood came about 5am but this year, it was here yesterday afternoon and all night. Last night, people from the other side of the bridge were driving here, leaving their houses.

Vin Lam, owner of Le Pain cafe in Windsor.
Cafe owner Vin Lam has been through floods, fires, Covid and now more flooding in Windsor. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

“Every year it’s terrible … the weather, what can we say?”

Lam says before the pandemic his business was flourishing with young people attracted to the area for work. But ever since he’s seen numbers dwindle.

“For the last four years, we had bushfires, Covid-19, then floods,” he says.

“This year again, floods. The young people are leaving.

“If it happened one year it would be OK but it’s continually … every year, you have to buy new furniture. You save, you buy again, you save, you buy again. It’s enough.”

Updated

With that, I shall hand you over to the fantastic Royce Kurmelovs who will take you through the next little while.

Windsor resident Michael Greentree isn’t convinced that raising the Warragamba Dam wall – as proposed by the NSW government – would help residents like him north-west of Sydney.

Many years ago the government told us they would keep Warragamba Dam at 80% for mitigation purposes and they have failed to do this ...

It wouldn’t matter if they raised it by 100 metres, they would try to keep it full, it wouldn’t save anybody. You’d be in the same situation every time.

Ted and Nolene Books watch the flood waters in Windsor. Ted has lived in the area for 84 years. Australia
Ted and Nolene Books have seen many floods over the years living near Windsor. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

Born 84 years ago in Pitt Town, north-east of Windsor, Ted Books hasn’t missed a flood since 1964 when he and his wife, Nolene, were away on their honeymoon.

“The [Hawkesbury] river is his life, the river is his home,” Nolene says as they watch the flood waters today.

He loves it – that’s his hobby, the river.

Nolene can rattle off countless times the Hawkesbury has flooded, “‘49, ‘61, ‘64, ‘78, we’ve seen all the floods,” she says.

But they echo Greentree’s objections to the government’s dam proposal and lament the weeks they spent watching Warragamba hover at capacity.

“It’s frustrating,” Books says.

They predicted every rain two weeks before it happened. They could’ve been letting water out [of the dam] back then. It’s back to front.

Updated

In case you are confused by what’s actually causing the wild weather in Queensland and NSW the Guardian video team and I have put together this little explainer to help people get their heads around it.

Flood waters have been rising in the north-west of Sydney since Wednesday morning, prompting more than a dozen evacuation orders in low-lying areas.

Residents in Windsor have seen this before – last year the Windsor bridge was closed, as it was last night, and the same river was flooded, as it is today.

Among those watching the Hawkesbury River is Michael Greentree. His family have lived in Windsor since 1815. He’s been here all his life.

“Between February 1992 and February 2020, that was the 28-year gap where we had no floods,” he says.

Many people didn’t understand what a flood was.

In the past two years though, Windsor has flooded three times. Greentree says the first was “the biggest amount of debris the community had seen in their lifetime”.

Now, with the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers rapidly rising again, and flood waters forecast to exceed those of March 2021, Greentree says the community is “getting used to it”.

Last year, Greentree was forced to evacuate. He’s planning to wait and see this time.

The house is up on 3 metres of stilts but once it gets about a metre under the house – well, you’re playing Russian roulette ...

It’s time to get in the dinghy and move out … I’m uncomfortable.

The Hawkesbury-Nepean valley is the most flood-prone region in New South Wales.

Updated

The Queensland police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, has warned people to stay off the roads in the south-east of the state today.

As you have heard a number of times, [it is] extraordinarily serious, dangerous and life-threatening. We already have had nine deaths and each of those has been related to the flooding of this past event in the last week.

The roads are extraordinarily congested at the moment. So I ask for everyone to think about whether they need to be on those roads and if it is essential, to please be aware of the weather.

And in fact, before you travel, go on the BoM site to have a look what the weather is like and where it is likely to impact.

Updated

Queensland BoM spokesperson:

At this stage, we’re still seeing flooding in rivers today, the creeks are of real concern. And a real focus because they are rising and responding so quickly.

As I said, they cannot take any rainfall. They are saturated, meaning it will rise if we see any rainfall ...

While we are seeing creeks and rivers rising, there is also a potential for flash flooding today. That is flooding with little to no warning and is absolutely a risk today, especially around areas where we are going to see storms move into.

Updated

'It's not just the rainfall': Queensland BoM warns of hail hazard

A spokesperson from the Queensland Bureau of Meteorology says large hailstones and damaging winds may also be extremely hazardous over the next few days.

Unlike the rainfall events we have seen in the last week, this is severe thunderstorms and with severe thunderstorms comes severe hazards and phenomena.

That doesn’t just include heavy rain, and includes the giant, potential for giant hail and damaging when. Overnight, just after midnight.

About 256cm around Inglewood, that is incredibly large hail and can do a lot of damage.

We also have damaging wind, 93km reported at Dolby airport. And we have had reports of trees down across areas.

It is not just the rainfall today, even though the rainfall is still posing an incredible threat. Due to the rainfall, we have seen renewed [water] rises. We have riverine flooding still current and renewed rises in some areas.

Updated

Warragamba Dam spill rate is now expected to peak at 300 to 350 gigalitres a day, if the revised forecast holds, so I’m hearing.

That’s much better than the worst-case scenario of 600 GL/day, and lower than the 440 to 460GL/day rate during the March 2021 flood.

Updated

A spokesperson from the Queensland Bureau of Meteorology is giving an update now:

This is a very dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation for south-east Queensland.

It is continuing today and potentially, as the premier said, for the next 48 hours, with active and potentially severe storms across very responsive rivers.

The situation we have seen over the past week has meant that any rainfall that falls in the south-east is going to renew these river rises and creeks will respond very quickly. They do not have the capacity to take on any more water so they will rise if any water falls in those areas.

That is why today it is such a serious and very dangerous situation. What we have seen overnight, already, some heavy rain.

For example in Brisbane city, we saw 48mm in 30 minutes, but is a severe storm and very intense rainfall and what we have seen can indicate what we can expect for the rest of the day. While the area of severe storms today is pushing a little further north.

Updated

Police investigate suspicious package sent to Russian embassy

Police have confirmed they have cordoned off the area around the Russian embassy in Canberra, as they investigate the contents of a suspicious package.

The ABC has reported that someone sent white powder in an envelope to the Russian embassy.

In a statement ACT policing said:

About 10.05am this morning, ACT Policing and ACT emergency services were called to a suspicious package incident at the Russian Embassy in Griffith.

The contents of the package are currently being assessed.

A cordon is in place and the public is urged to avoid the area until further notice.

No further details are available yet, but it obviously comes amid heightened tensions after the invasion of Ukraine.

Updated

Palasczuk says the weather events in the south-east are “unprecedented”.

These are unprecedented times. I have lived in Brisbane essentially all my life and I haven’t seen storms and floods like this. All being thrown at us at once.

We will get through it together but it is of course a very concerning time.

Can also ask people if you have been cleaning up and have been in some those areas where we have seen rising flood waters, especially around the creeks, to please not go back into those areas for the next 24 to48 hours. Please stay out of those areas.

We don’t want to be sending people to rescue you at midnight tonight when we expect some of those severe storms coming in. That is an added message.

And finally to people undertaking cleanup activities once we get through this storm season, storm period, we are also, the health advice is to make sure you had your tetanus injection as well. That is another health message.

Updated

Palasczuk says in some regions in Queensland, schools will only be open for the children of essential workers tomorrow.

Secondly, we are seeing some rises because of some rain. We are talking to the Ipswich ... coordinator and could see some major rises.

In Brisbane, we expect there should be some rises, could be some rises in the creeks where they could be some flash flooding as well.

At the moment, the Brisbane River is at 2.2m, but is well below the major peak we saw the other day. Our immediate concern is that northern region.

If anyone is living in the northern region, please listen to all of the broadcasts. Something that everyone can do in the south-east is actually subscribe to the Bureau of Meteorology app. It is giving up-to-date information and also your councils will be giving out emergency alerts. Today is the day to be listening.

... The conditions are going to be unstable for the next 24 to 48 hours across the entire south-east. I am asking people to think about not being on the roads tomorrow and staying at home. The schools will open for children of essential workers but under all the information that has been given to me this morning, to myself, the commissioner, the acting status after coordinator and the deputy premier, this is the action that we wish to take.

Updated

Parents from Sunshine Coast to Bundaberg told to pick up children from school when safe

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has told parents in the region stretching between the Sunshine Coast and Bundaberg to collect their children from school when safe to do so as “unstable” conditions potentially threaten lives across the South East of the state.

This is very important information. We have just been updated from the bureau and Laura will update more but there are severe conditions that are going to be experienced from the north of Brisbane, in the northern Moreton Bay region.

On the Sunshine Coast, Gympie, Wide Bay, although the way up to Bundaberg. This is of serious concern. What we are asking people to do who live in this region, we are asking people, and the first instance, children are safe at school but you should collect your children when it is safe to do so.

We are warning people that this is a serious situation. It is extremely unstable weather conditions. And as a precaution, we would like people to collect their children when they think it is safe to go out on the road and do so. But they are safe at school until they can come to collect them.

In an aerial view, a farm house is seen surrounded by floodwaters in the town of Yandina on February 27, 2022 on the Sunshine Coast, Australia.
In an aerial view, a farm house is seen surrounded by floodwaters in the town of Yandina on February 27, 2022 on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Photograph: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Updated

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, is giving an update on the thunderstorms now.

She has confirmed that a number of residents have been evacuated from the Grantham area, although this is currently just as a precaution.

We have a lot of unsettled weather conditions across the entire south-east and people know that because they have been woken up with those severe storms and a lot of light damage around the region.

As a precaution, because we are seeing some rising levels in and around Grantham, we have people out at the moment evacuating residents as a precaution. As I say, it is as a precaution. Better to be safe than sorry.

Updated

Queensland records six Covid deaths and 6,479 new infections

Stephen has lived in Picnic Point for 20 years and he’s “not too worried” about his riverfront home.

He said he won’t leave until he’s told to and he hasn’t had anyone door knock to tell him to evacuate yet.

He said:

SES would usually come around and tell us to go but we haven’t heard anything yet so I’m not going.

Last time we had tinnies motoring along here where we’re standing so we’re not too worried.

Zach El-Sayed 17 and Stephen neighbours and residents of Carinya Road at Picnic Point in South West Sydney standing the floodwaters of the Georges River in their street this morning.
Zach El-Sayed 17 and Stephen neighbours and residents of Carinya Road at Picnic Point in South West Sydney standing the floodwaters of the Georges River in their street this morning. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

University student Zach El-Sayed, 17, has lived with his parents at Picnic Point for three years and this is the second time their house has been at risk from flooding.

Last time was in 2020 when the water came into the Carinya Rd home.

At 11am on Thursday, the Georges River directly outside the house had risen above its banks and onto the road outside, but his family has stayed.

Zach said:

If it comes into the house, yeah, we might leave. If it gets dangerous for us to be here, we’ll go. We’re listening to neighbours who have been here far longer than us. They’ve been through this many times before.

He’s worried what will happen to his parents if the floods keep coming once he’s left home.

University student Zach El-Sayed, 17 in Picnic Point, NSW.
University student Zach El-Sayed, 17 in Picnic Point, NSW. Photograph: Tamsin Rose/The Guardian

I worry about them, how are they going to cope with this?

His family has moved all of their most precious belongings to the top floor of the house.

Updated

The Guardian’s Blake Sharp-Wiggins is out near the Hawkesbury river today taking some breathtaking and heartbreaking images of the flooding currently happening there.

A skink stranded in flood water.
A skink stranded in the floodwater. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

Updated

Evacuation for outer Sydney suburb

All residents along Bents Basin Road in the outer western Sydney suburb of Wallacia have been ordered to evacuate immediately as the Nepean River rises.

NSW SES has warned that once floodwater reaches 9 metres at Wallacia Weir, the area will be isolated.

Looks like someone in the planning office is going to be having a tough meeting today.

(The shot is from at least two days ago, just for clarity)

Updated

Looks like we will be hearing from the premier in half an hour.

Australia’s national Indigenous newspaper, the Koori Mail, will be unable to publish for the first time in 30 years next week.

The paper is produced in Lismore and the general manager, Naomi Moran, says they have confirmed this morning that the publication’s three-story office headquarters was partially underwater.

Moran said staff have accessed the building and confirmed that two levels of the three-storey building, next to the levee on Magellan St, were submerged.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the paper said two senior staff members, including the paper’s editor, Rudi Maxwell, had also lost their homes.

We are down but we are not out ...

Not publishing for the first time in 30 years was a difficult decision to make but we are all affected by this.

Our local Bundjalung communities have become our priority for now, they have all been affected by the devastating impacts of this flood.

We are extremely concerned for their welfare and have been working hard to support them in their hours of need.

A GoFund Me page for the publication has now been set up.

We are accepting donations on behalf of our mob for temporary accommodation, medical supplies, baby supplies, food vouchers, drinking water, clothes and camp gear.

Updated

Northern Rivers flood update

Telecommunications issues are continuing to hamper both flood rescues and recovery efforts in the New South Wales Northern Rivers, with Ballina mayor Sharon Cadwallader saying that internet outages and patchy reception were the biggest issues for locals.

Mobile internet coverage is almost non-existent across large swathes of the Northern Rivers, and reception for phone calls is intermittent.

Credit card machines are unable to function as a result, with most businesses only accepting cash. Some have been offering free food as a result, a welcome gesture in towns where supermarkets and shops have bare shelves due to cut off supply routes.

People queuing outside a bank in Mullumbimby, NSW
People queuing outside a bank in Mullumbimby, NSW. Photograph: Elias Visontay/The Guardian

In Mullumbimby, a queue stretched out of the Commonwealth Bank branch on Thursday morning as it opened for the first time since flooding earlier in the week. Tellers were manually recording customers bank account information and limiting cash withdrawals to $500.

Communication issues have meant some families are unable to stay in contact with their evacuated relatives, and have no news about when the road closures cutting them off have lifted.

“You can’t do anything ... I just sit there in silence,” said Bill Crompton, as he continued cleaning out his sister Shirley’s flood-ravaged house in Mullumbimby on Thursday after the 84 year old was evacuated to Alstonville on Monday.

Bill Crompton outside a flood-damaged home
Bill Crompton helping clean out his sister’s flooded house in Mullumbimby, NSW. Photograph: Elias Visontay/The Guardian

Crompton said everything his sister owned had been ruined, but that she was lucky to have been evacuated.

Outside the family’s home on Queen St, mountains of couches, bricks, BBQs, toys and other rubble that line the street are continuing to grow as locals continue to clean up their flood damaged homes.

Updated

Queensland SES say they have had more than 360 calls for help this morning after thunderstorms pummelled the city just days after widespread flooding.

Updated

We’re getting reports that residents in the NSW northern rivers region are struggling to get access to fuel due to the floods. BP, which operates a number of stations in the region, has told me the problem is one of access, rather than fuel supply. The floods have made it unsafe in some areas to continue to allow access to fuel, prompting restrictions. A BP spokesperson told me:

BP is closely monitoring the situation following the extreme weather and floods. There are currently no energy security concerns and BP is working closely with partners and local authorities to navigate the impacts of the weather and ensure fuel is delivered where roads and regions can be safely accessed.

Flooding in Ballina, in the Northern Rivers of NSW.
Flooding in Ballina, in the Northern Rivers of NSW. Photograph: Natalie Grono/The Guardian

Updated

A fire and rescue spokesperson is giving an update on the situation in Lismore, calling it a flood of “biblical proportions”.

The floods this time are of almost biblical proportion. I wanted to catch up with our troops who have been on the ground.

Unfortunately, they have been isolated and lots of the towns and cities around here still up ...

We still do not know what the weather is doing. Resources coming from the CB area and they will be up here for as long as required but, unfortunately, the weather is hitting us in the city, all the way to the south coast, so our resources are going to be pretty spread.

Updated

Redress scheme for Victorian stolen generation survivors

About 1,200 Victorian survivors of the stolen generation are expected to receive payments through the state government’s new redress scheme, reports AAP.

Under the $155m package announced on Thursday, Aboriginal Victorians removed from their families before 1977 will be able to access $100,000 payments.

Those survivors will also receive a personal apology from the government and access to healing and family reunion programs.

About 1,200 people are expected to qualify for the redress scheme, with applications opening on March 31.

Applications will be assessed from June and payments will start later this year.

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, said the package was designed by and for Aboriginal people through the Stolen Generations Reparations Steering Committee.

The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria – the elected body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Victorian Treaty process – has welcomed the redress scheme.

“The damage inflicted on our people when government authorities ripped families apart and stole our children runs across generations and the disadvantage it caused is ongoing,” assembly co-chair and Bangerang and Wiradjuri Elder Aunty Geraldine Atkinson said.

I don’t believe there is anything that can heal that trauma or ever repay that loss, but the package announced today will go some way to helping people address the disadvantage caused by the inhumane practices our people have been subjected to.

The Australian Aboriginal flag.
The Australian Aboriginal flag. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Updated

As we mentioned earlier, Australia has joined 140 other countries to condemn Russia’s action in Ukraine at the UN General Assembly.

Updated

'Playing cheap politics': Labor and LNP clash over Services Australia flood assistance

The minister for government services, Linda Reynolds, has accused Labor of “playing cheap politics” after numerous Queensland MPs claimed their areas were being ignored by Services Australia staff while neighbouring Coalition seats were getting more help.

The shadow emergency management minister, Murray Watt, along with the shadow environment minister, Terri Butler, and the shadow treasurer, Jim Chalmers, as well as several other politicians, claimed Labor-held electorates around Brisbane hadn’t received on-ground visits from Services Australia staff to help flood victims apply for government payments.

Watt, pointing to a Services Australia post on Facebook listing locations around Brisbane where staff had been deployed, claimed on Wednesday there wasn’t “a single person on the ground helping speed up disaster payments” in the Labor seats of Moreton, Griffith, Oxley or Rankin.

“People should get help based on need, not how they vote,” he said.

Graham Perrett, MP for Moreton in Brisbane’s south, complained there were several locations in Longman – a marginal Coalition seat north of Brisbane – but “none in suburbs hit hardest by the Brisbane River”.

The deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, called Labor’s claims “ridiculous” and “inappropriate”, denying there was “any parochialism when it comes to how we look after people”.

A spokesperson for Reynolds told Guardian Australia that Services Australia staff would be deployed to the Logan Metro Sports Centre in the electorate of Rankin today, and had attended a recovery centre in the seat of Oxley yesterday.

“These locations aren’t related to politics,” Reynolds’ office said.

The spokesperson said Services Australia staff were being directed to evacuation centres, and that locations for those centre “are determined by state authorities, not the federal government”.

“Disappointing to see Labor playing cheap politics while we’re focused on disaster response,” they said.

We’ve reached out to Services Australia for comment.

Discarded furniture outside a flood affected property on March 02, 2022 in Lismore.
Discarded furniture outside a flood affected property on March 02, 2022 in Lismore. Photograph: Dan Peled/Getty Images

Updated

Some good news amongst all this flood devastation:

There’s some good news with regard to the flood threats, with the Bureau of Meteorology lately lowering its forecast for Sydney’s rainfall totals.

It’s now predicting 50mm to 90mm today, down from the 100-150mm prediction earlier this morning. The key difference seems to be the east coast low will nudge the NSW coast further north, and as its quite compact, the southern edge – the bad bit as far as wind and rain goes – will be a bit further north than Sydney.

Still, there remains “the chance of a thunderstorm, possibly severe with heavy rain which may lead to flash flooding in the morning and early afternoon”, so a localised dump of rain can’t be ruled out.

Winds too should ease off, which is good.

Road closures expand in Windsor along the banks of Hawkesbury river, North West Sydney, Australia
Road closures expand in Windsor along the banks of Hawkesbury river, North West Sydney, Australia Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

Updated

We will be hearing from the Queensland premier about the thunderstorm situation in the state at 10.30am Brisbane time - so in about an hour and a quarter.

To make matters even more difficult, the mayor of Hawkesbury, Patrick Conolly, currently has Covid-19 while floodwaters keep up in town. He has told ABC how frustrating this situation has been.

It’s incredibly frustrating at the moment. The timing of being stuck in isolation when there’s so much that I could be doing out there to help. But just trying to run all meetings virtually and keep in touch with everyone that way.

That’s why I’m on Zoom from home for all of these. But you’re right – there would be people who are isolating, like me, and it would add an extra layer of complications.

But it is a flood, and if it’s a life-and-death situation, if people need to evacuate, they need to evacuate ...

I think we’re better prepared this time. You know, the Hawkesbury is on a floodplain, we’ve gotta remember that. In our history, we’ve had long periods of regular flooding, and we did have a long dry period up until a couple of years ago without any floods.

And I think, you know, while that’s a very good thing, obviously it did mean we lost a lot of knowledge, and people who are younger, like myself, hadn’t lived through it. Certainly this time everyone is a lot more aware of the risk, everyone is a lot more aware of what it might mean and what could happen, and what order things generally happen in.

From that point of view, I think there’s a bit more resilience in the community.

Updated

The mayor of Hawkesbury, Patrick Conolly, says if the river reaches 14 metres as the BoM has suggested, it might that would make this year’s flooding even more devastating than last year’s.

So, the river at Windsor is currently almost at 11 metres, and at North Richmond I think it’s close to 12.5 metres now. We’re seeing predictions coming out of the Bureau of Meteorology that we could get up to 14 metres at Windsor, which would make this flood even more devastating than the one we had this time last year ...

A lot of people have already been evacuated due to either inundation or isolation. We’ve got ... You know, our community here in the Hawkesbury is divided by the Hawkesbury River.

There are two bridges across the river that join our community – Windsor bridge and North Richmond bridge – and both have been closed. Windsor bridge closed overnight and North Richmond bridge closed yesterday.

So, the two sides of the river are now separated from each other. But if we do see a peak of 14 metres, that will likely mean lots of local road closures that could create some flood islands around the place.

Debris collects on Windsor bridge due to flood waters in Windsor.
Debris collects on Windsor bridge due to flood waters in Windsor. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

Updated

Lots of attention from flood authorities about Warragamba Dam because it’s spilling and contributing to the major flooding on the Hawkesbury-Nepean River downstream.

(That river should really have only one name, but that’s for another day.)

“Along the Hawkesbury and Lower Nepean Rivers, major flooding continues at North Richmond where levels are approaching a peak,” the Bureau of Meteorology has just said.

River levels are continuing to rise at Windsor where major flooding is expected to develop this afternoon. Further heavy rainfall is forecast today and into Friday which may result in renewed river level rises to levels near the March 2021 event.

Warragamba started spilling at 3am on Wednesday, and the last look at the spill appears as this:

The latest word we have is that Warragamba was spilling at the rate of 300 gigalitres a day, but the worst-case scenario was double that. Of course 600GL/day needs to last a day to reach that tally, which would be highly dangerous if it did.

Sydney Harbour has about 500GL capacity, by comparison.

As an indication of the rainfall over the catchment, Warragamba’s rain gauge had received 86mm of rain in the six hours to 3:45pm with another 73mm recorded in the following six hours.

How much more rain falls into the catchment depends on where the east coast low tracks. If it’s closer to Newcastle, that’s a better outcome than further south.

Updated

Four Japanese encephalitis cases in Victoria

Three Victorians are in hospital suffering from Japanese encephalitis after the virus was found in animals in the state’s north, reports Emily Woods from AAP.

Victorian health officials issued a warning about the disease on Sunday, after evidence of its presence was found in pigs in Echuca, near the NSW border.

AAP understands four Victorians have since contracted the virus, believed to be the first cases reported in Australia’s south.

All four were admitted to hospital and one has since been discharged.

Japanese encephalitis virus spreads through mosquito bites and people in regional areas who are in contact with pigs may be at particular risk.

The disease is not transmitted from person to person and cannot be caught by eating pork or pig products.

Australia’s health department confirmed the disease had been found in one piggery in Victoria’s north, six piggeries in NSW and one in Queensland.

“This is the first time the virus has been detected in southern Australia, and biosecurity authorities are working with their human health departments to understand the implications and risks of human exposure,” Australia’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Mark Schipp, said.

Federal, state and territory authorities are meeting regularly to “work through the next steps of this situation”.

Anyone who works with pigs or horses, even if they’re backyard pets, is urged to keep an eye out and report any possible signs of the disease.

Australia’s acting chief medical officer, Sonya Bennett, said two vaccinations were available for protection against JEV in Australia.

Older people and those aged under five who are infected have a higher risk of developing a serious illness.

Encephalitis is the most serious clinical consequence of JEV infection. Illness usually begins with symptoms such as sudden onset of fever, headache and vomiting.

Bennett said anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek urgent medical attention.

She encouraged people to avoid exposure to infected mosquitoes, with those in high mosquito areas encouraged to use repellent and cover up with loose-fitting clothing.

A Aedes aegypti mosquito.
A Aedes aegypti mosquito. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

Some fairly harrowing footage coming out of the Northern Rivers region in NSW of helicopter rescues taking place.

A quick update on our news yesterday that AustralianSuper’s $300m portfolio of Russian assets has been devastated by the collapse of price in its largest holding, shares in Sberbank.

Aussie has shares in Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank, on its books valued at about $140m, but at prices yesterday the stake was worth just $1.8m.

That valuation was based on a London stock exchange price of US21c - a fraction of the US$15.65 they were worth at the end of the year.

Overnight, the value of Sberbank shares has collapsed even further as the market reacted to sanctions that have completely shuttered its European business and made doing business extremely difficult for the Russian parent.

Sberbank shares closed at US5c. That implies Aussie’s stake is worth just $446,000.

Aussie’s yet to say whether it will join other funds, including the Future Fund, CBUS, Aware and Rest, in divesting from Russia – a task that is currently complicated by the closure of the Moscow stock exchange.

Our earlier story is here:

Updated

Hmmm, this is interesting. The Bureau of Meteorology says that the severe storms affecting southeast Queensland have now eased, but more storms could come later in the day.

Some QLD schools to remain closed

Queensland’s education minister has confirmed that a number of schools in the southeast of the state that were due to reopen today will remain closed as dangerous thunderstorms batter the area.

As an evacuation order is listed for parts of Windsor, residents don’t appear ambivalent, but resolute. They’ve seen this before – many times now.

At the pub last night, some locals joked that getting stuck on the wrong side of the river at least meant they’d get a day off work.

Michael Greentree
Local resident Michael Greentree surveys the flood waters in Windsor. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

This morning, Michael Greentree stands at the banks of the Hawkesbury River alongside a slew of residents out with their dogs, watching the water spill onto the Windsor Bridge, that was – as predicted – closed around midnight last night.

His family have lived in Windsor since 1815. He’s been here all his life.

“Between February 1992 and February 2020, that was the 28 year gap where we had no floods,” he says. “Many people didn’t understand what a flood was.”

Flooded-out bridge in Windsor, NSW
Flood waters have inundated the north bank of the Hawkesbury River at Windsor with the town bridge closed overnight. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

In the past two years though, Windsor has flooded three times. The first was “the biggest amount of debris the community had seen in their lifetime”.

I ask Michael how the community are feeling now, watching the river rise again.

He pauses. “Well, they’re getting used to it.”

Last year, Michael ended up evacuating, and he’s playing wait and see now.

“If it comes up another metre, it’ll be up on the house, and then we’d consider getting out,” he says. “The house is up on three metres of stilts but once it gets about a metre under the house - well, you’re playing Russian roulette. It’s time to get in the dinghy and move out.”

People watching rising flood waters in Windsor, NSW
People turn out to see the rising flood waters on the Hawkesbury River in Windsor. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

Updated

Airport excitement as WA border reopens

Updated

For Richmond local Rob Buchanan, the only winners from the downpour hitting his already drenched lowland property north-west of Sydney are “ducks and grass”.

During the devastating floods in 2021, the water was 4 metres high in surrounding paddocks, and Buchanan and his partner, Sam Magnusson, were taking their tinnie to the pub for dinner. This year, though, he fears it will be worse.

At about 4pm on Wednesday, a flood evacuation order was issued for parts of North Richmond in Sydney’s west, with anyone downstream of Redbank Dam ordered to leave the area.

NSW State Emergency Services sent a text notification warning “major flooding similar to March 2021” was expected along the Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers, urging communities to prepare and evacuate when asked.

You can read the full report below:

NSW records nine Covid deaths and 11,338 new cases

Victoria records 23 Covid deaths and 7,093 new infections

Another deadly day in Victoria with 23 Covid-19 positive people passing away in the last 24 hours.

By the way there is now flood warnings happening in Tasmania as well.

Australia steps up Ukrainian refugee help

Australia is processing refugee visa applications for Ukrainians, but the exact number of people to be accepted is not yet decided, says the home affairs minister according to an AAP report.

Karen Andrews told Sky News on Thursday that Australia is providing humanitarian assistance to people fleeing Ukraine but she expects the majority of people who have evacuated to neighbouring countries will seek to return to Ukraine as soon as possible.

We’ve certainly stepped up and made sure that we are processing the visa applications that are coming through ...

These people are most likely going to want to return home – families have been separated – so there’s these issues with how we would manage that.

We certainly don’t want to separate families and we know that people want to return to Ukraine, so that will be the focus of our support.

Meanwhile, Australia will join 30 countries in releasing a combined 60m oil barrels from reserves to stabilise prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a spike in prices.

The collective action by the International Energy Agency aims to send a message to Russia – the world’s second largest crude oil producer behind the United States – about the “unacceptable risk” to energy security created by its invasion.

30m barrels of oil will come from the US strategic reserve.

Australia’s energy minister, Angus Taylor, said the release would increase supply designed to avoid shortfalls in production and to ultimately lower petrol prices.

The volume of oil stocks to be released by Australia will be decided and announced in coming days, the minister said.

The global oil market is already showing signs of uncertainty in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and we are continuing to work constructively with our partners to build confidence in the market and help stabilise prices ...

Australia will contribute to the collective action and release stocks held on our behalf in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Australia stored around 1.7m oil barrels in the US reserve when prices hit a historic low during the pandemic.

Updated

Good morning from the Hawkesbury River in Windsor, where flood waters broke onto the Windsor Bridge late yesterday evening.

The bridge was closed off by NSW SES around 10pm last night, with branches and debris gathering in the rapidly moving waters.

Around 11pm last night, residents received a text from NSW SES warning the Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers were rising rapidly, with flood water forecast to exceed the March 2021 level.

Do not delay evacuating to a safer location, otherwise rescue may become too dangerous.

Updated

Just to get a sense of the situation around Nepean.

The New South Wales deputy premier, Paul Toole, has been accused of using the state’s flood disaster to “guilt trip” critics of the Coalition government’s proposal to expand and build new dams.

Labor, the Greens and independent MPs have rebuked Toole, who used a press conference about the flooding emergency on Wednesday to address opposition to projects such as the proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam wall.

Toole had been asked a question about flood mitigation in Sydney and responded by urging critics of dam projects to “get out of the way”.

“Stop coming up with excuses and not allowing these dams to be built or raised where they need to be,” he said.

You can read the full report below:

Updated

The Guardian’s Caitlin Cassidy is up in Windsor today, bringing us some choice commentary from the locals.

Narramore:

Focusing on the Hawkesbury and Nepean River, we saw major flood on the Nepean River last night and particularly upstream. In the Hawkesbury River, we see major flooding occurring at North Richmond. This major flooding is continuing to move downstream. We have moderate flooding occurring at both Penrith and Windsor, and we could see major flooding developing at Windsor later today.

While rain has eased overnight with showers but we could see that pick up again this morning and later this afternoon. If you check the radar, a lot of rain is sitting offshore, just starting to move into the Hunter area, around Newcastle and down to Gosford and likely to move into metropolitan area later this afternoon.

Inland of the Shoalhaven and Wollongong area, I should say, widespread 50-150mm since 9:00 yesterday with a few isolated falls in excess of 200 mm.

Updated

Narramore:

Obviously of major concern is from the Central Coast, Hunter and down into the Sydney Metropolitan area. The east coast low last night, this morning, started tracking westwards, [it’s set] to come further south towards the metropolitan area.

Now, [it’s] tracking towards the southern parts of the Mid North Coast and the Hunter region. That puts it down through the Hunter, and Central Coast and Sydney Metropolitan area into the widespread heavy rainfall that we are expecting later today and into tonight.

We are expecting severe weather. Warnings are current for heavy rainfall and damaging winds, particularly on coastal locations where it could be enough to bring down trees and power lines. Rainfall-wise, we are expecting between 50 to 250mm today in that part of the world, and isolated showers of 200mm, particularly with thunderstorms. That could lead to dangerous and life-threatening flooding.

Updated

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Dean Narramore says rain in the north of NSW could re-flood rivers that have already gone down.

Starting in the north, while things have temporarily eased up there, there is still major to moderate flooding ongoing on numerous rivers. Unfortunately [it is] raining up there as well, only light, but during the day we are likely to see showers and possibly severe thunderstorms likely to lead to intense flash flooding.

If these streams fall upstream from you, the river rises will be localised, not widespread, but if you are in that area, please stay up to date with the local forecasts and warnings today as some of those storms are already occurring in south-east Queensland and they are likely to impact our flood-affected communities later this morning and throughout much of the day today.

Updated

Cooke says ADF and additional RFS volunteers are on their way to flood-affected areas.

If you are asked to leave your home, please do so, please do not put yourself or your family at risk and please don’t put the lives of our emergency services volunteers at risk because they need to come and rescue you ...

Sydney is bracing itself and the [Central] Coast and the Hunter are bracing themselves for treacherous weather conditions today. We must not, and we will not take our eye off the people of the Northern Rivers region, that north-east part of our state that has been so deeply impacted by this weather event over the past few days.

To that end, we are sending in additional fire and rescue strike teams, ADF personnel, RFS volunteers and workers. Over the next 24 hours, we will see an additional 400 personnel pour into that part of the world as we commence the very difficult task of cleaning up, commencing recovery, and getting people back on their feet as quickly as possible.

Updated

Emergency services minister Stephanie Cooke says there are currently 76 evacuation orders in place in NSW, affecting 200,000 people.

This morning I am worried about the communities across south-west Sydney, Sydney more generally, the Central Coast and the Hunter. I know you’re tired. It has been a long night. Many of you have had to evacuate from your homes over this time. It has been a sleepless night for many people. We know that you are weary, but we need you to stay with us.

We need you to keep listening out to the warnings, to the information that our emergency services organisations, particularly our combat agency, the SES, are putting out this morning, off the back of the advice that we are receiving from the Bureau of Meteorology who we will hear from next.

Updated

Perrottet:

The challenge we are facing right now is a battle on two fronts. I was up north with the minister yesterday where we are seeing the recovery underway and in addition to that recovery, we are currently dealing with the immediate response here in Sydney.

But as a result, today, we will be standing up the Crisis Policy Committee of Cabinet to ensure that that recovery takes place in the best way possible ...

Whilst we are dealing with the immediate right here in Sydney, I do want to say particularly to those people in communities in the north, many people today in the Northern Rivers and over the last 24 hours have returned home, and what they [have] returned home to is devastating.

If it is possible for our SES and RFS teams to come into those areas, we will be there to provide that support, to get the clean-up conducted as quickly as possible.

We know that many people are returning to heartbreaking scenes and it is devastating, but that support will be there. And whilst those devastating scenes are in place, what I saw yesterday as well is such high spirit[s], and through adversity, our state is stronger.

To see so many volunteers, not just in New South Wales, but from other states, coming in to lend a hand, to provide that care and support for people is overwhelming, and to all of you, can I say thank you, because it is that spirit of service that makes our state great and it is that spirit of service that I know will ensure, through these difficult times, that we will get through.

Updated

NSW floods will be worse than last year, Perrottet says

The NSW premier says this week’s weather events will be worse than last year’s devastating floods and says the worst is yet to come.

We do believe that things will get worse before they get better here in our state.

We will have the bureau speaking shortly, but we do expect, particularly in the Hawkesbury region, that the floods will be worse than they were last year, and that we see more torrential rain and flooding in Newcastle and [the] Hunter over the course of the day.

Updated

'Please get out': Perrottet urges NSW residents to heed evacuation orders

Perrottet:

Those evacuation orders, the evacuation warnings. We have currently half a million people across our state who are subject to either one of those warnings or one of those orders. If you are subject to one of those evacuation warnings, please get ready. Please ensure that you are ready to evacuate.

If you are subject to one of those evacuation orders, please get out. Those instructions are not there for the sake of it, they are there to keep you and your family safe. I want to thank everybody for following those orders because not only do they keep you safe, importantly they keep our volunteers safe who are on the front line ensuring that everybody is looked after during this difficult time. Can I thank everybody for the efforts they are making in following those orders.

Updated

The NSW premier Dominic Perrottet is speaking now:

Many people are waking up today to see much of our state underwater. It has been an incredibly difficult evening, and I want to begin by thanking all of our volunteers, our SES volunteers, RFS, those in evacuation centres who have worked through the night, providing care and support for people who need it.

I want to acknowledge the trauma and suffering that many people have gone through, throughout the evening, having to leave their homes in the middle of the night in [heavy] rain. But my message to you is that we will get through this.

For those people who have lost their homes, as we’ve seen up north. For those who have had to leave their homes in the last 24 hours, for those who are still waiting assistance and to all our volunteers, we are with you side by side through this difficult and challenging time.

People gather to watch the flood waters rise at the Windsor Bridge in Windsor, north-west Sydney
People gather to watch the flood waters rise on Thursday at the Windsor Bridge in Windsor, north-west Sydney. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

Updated

The sound of thunder woke residents in flood-hit Chinderah this morning on the far northern NSW coast, with thunderstorms predicted for Thursday likely to impede the clean-up.

Peter Otto, senior meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, told ABC North Coast the Northern Rivers region was facing widespread “short, sharp” thunderstorms today with isolated falls in excess of 50mm and hail possible.

The falls had the potential to cause flash flooding and may contribute to riverine flooding, Otto said.

Meanwhile, the cleanup is also being hampered by a shortage of clean water, with residents in Lismore urged to delay using hoses to clean their properties until critical water shortages are addressed.

Water restrictions are also current in Tweed with water treatment plants throughout the region impacted by the flooding.

Updated

We are just standing by now to hear from the NSW premier who will have an update on the state’s flood situation.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has told ABC radio that the cleanup bill for this week’s flood will “run into the billions”.

Joyce:

It doesn’t matter how high you take the levee bank, if you restrict water in a certain area – I used to live in St George, we had massive floods there – you push the water to somewhere else. You can do it, it removes water from some areas, pushes water into other areas. All these things are never a perfect solution.

As a lot of people say, as soon as you put a levee around your town, you put water into my house. These are more complex than people might first guess. If people want to suggest in the future mitigants in dams and water storage, let’s leave that to them.

Let’s leave it to the people of a local area to tell us what they wish.

Updated

The LNP government has come under fire in recent days for not using more of the $4bn emergency response fund to do more to prepare for flooding events like we have seen this week.

Joyce has just been asked about this on ABC Radio:

Mitigation schemes come in a range of ways and have to deal with the historical records as you see them. We have actually built a levee bank in Lismore before, but no-one expected the diluvian event that we had, where it tipped over by more than 2 metres.

I was speaking to the local member, Kevin Hogan, for the seat of Page, just before I came on this program. People had no conception about how high this flood could come, and that’s why it’s caused such massive damage. That a warning that people got at 2:00 in the morning said, ‘Well, it’s way above what we expected.’ How do you plan for something that hasn’t happened before? That’s the issue.

Other things with mitigation includes the mitigation of water as it comes down, you have to build massive dams. And, of course, that in itself starts inspiring other sort of environmental issues and environmental debates as to whether you have the capacity to construct them.

Updated

'That’s ridiculous': Deputy PM slams suggestion flood support is being unfairly distributed to LNP electorates

Barnaby Joyce has rebutted the suggestion services Services Australia staff have been unfairly distributed to LNP electorates to assist with flood recovery. He labelled this claim “ridiculous”.

ABC News Breakfast, Lisa Millar:

Terry Butler, the Labor MP, has questioned the fact that Services Australia staff are being deployed to flood areas, but in Queensland they’re being deployed to LNP seats – none in the Labor seats of Griffith, Moreton, Rankin. Is there politics involved in the decisions of who’s getting help?

Joyce:

I think that’s ridiculous, on behalf of Ms Butler. But I don’t think for one second there’s any parochialism when it comes to how we look after people, look after their property, and look after their lives ...

Let’s check that. I think Ms Butler will find out that is an inappropriate statement and also erroneous. It is ridiculous to think that we would differentiate one Australian from another Australian in how we help them. I think that’s really below her. She shouldn’t have said something like that.

Updated

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce says air operations have been required to deliver supplies across flood-affected areas on the east coast.

He is speaking to ABC News Breakfast now:

We’re making sure we give all the resources we possibly can to assist people in the 35 LGAs, local government areas, which the flood has affected. We’ve already put out $35m.

But we do have air platforms that are working into that area, that are delivering requirements as and when needed. We understand that this is a vast area.

We’re going from basically Gympie now right down to Sydney, so it’s not just focused on one area. We have to make sure these resources are used for the pinnacle, critical needs, and that’s saving people’s lives, number one, and ... after that we can work our way down from that.

So, we have issues because the railway lines are out, the roads are out, and the port of Brisbane is also, by reason of siltation, and is inoperable at this point in time. So, we have a lot of challenges in front of us.

And although we’d like to have all the resources pinpointed on one certain local government area, we can’t. We have to spread those resources through the length and breadth of a section of Queensland and now right down the New South Wales coast.

Updated

Close to half a million people in NSW are under evacuation orders or warnings as the wild weather system that has battered parts of eastern Australia for a week homes in on the greater Sydney region.

A flooded cricket pitch in Richmond, NSW
A cricket pitch in Richmond, NSW begins to flood on Wednesday night as rain continues to inundate north-west Sydney. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian
A flooded cricket pitch in Richmond, NSW

The NSW State Emergency Service added five new evacuation orders early on Thursday morning, adding to the 57 already in place. All five were for the Illawarra region to Sydney’s south, SES spokesperson, Adam Jones, said.

“There are 167,000 people in those areas that are being affected, but that doesn’t include the evacuation warnings, which currently affect 280,000 people,” Jones said.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued multiple warnings for rivers that will flood and severe weather that will affect a region of eastern NSW from near Taree, north of Newcastle, down almost to Moruya Heads on the South Coast.

You can read the full report below:

Updated

Good morning

Good morning everyone, it’s Matilda Boseley here ready to bring you all the most important news updates this morning.

Obviously, we start our day with the floods affecting the east coast.

Residents in western Sydney who endured floods in the Hawkesbury-Nepean region in March last year were told to leave on Wednesday evening after around 600 gigalitres of water flowed over the Warragamba Dam wall.

Around 130,000 homes are in the path of the overflowing dam and the deputy premier, Paul Toole, has warned that those residents should leave before further flood water hit.

Get out now ... We do not want to see those situations where people are on the roofs of their houses waiting to be rescued. More than 100mm of rain fell in multiple areas near the dam between 9am and 6pm on Wednesday.

The SES received more than 2,500 requests for assistance and conducted over 250 flood rescues in the 24 hours up to 4pm on Wednesday, and now flood waters and warnings have forced the closure of more than 250 schools across northern NSW.

People turn out to see the rising flood waters on the Hawkesbury River from the Windsor Bridge in Windsor, North West Sydney, Australia
People turn out to see the rising flood waters on the Hawkesbury River from the Windsor Bridge in Windsor, north-west Sydney, on Wednesday night. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

A road weather warning has now been issued for all roads in all Sydney suburbs, with the State Emergency Service warning that heavy rain will make driving conditions dangerous.

North of the border, south-east Queensland communities who have already been battered with torrential downpours and flooding this week have been warned that multiple “very dangerous thunderstorms” have begun and are expected to continue throughout the day.

With that, why don’t we jump into the day? There is certainly a lot to get through.

Updated

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