Four people have been confirmed dead, while another is missing, as heavy rain and dangerous flooding conditions continue throughout NSW, with the deluge moving towards Sydney.
Late Thursday evening, NSW Police urged motorists in the region to make safe decisions when driving around flood-affected areas after a woman believed to be in her 60s was found in a vehicle stuck in floodwaters. The body of a man believed to be in his 70s has been found inside a car in floodwaters north-west of Coffs Harbour. The body of a 34-year-old man was found near Rosewood, while a 49-year-old remains missing at Nymbodia.
The 63-year-old man declared dead at his property in Moto has been identified as David Knowles. His family and community have remembered Knowles as a “selfless hero” after he directed a rescue boat to save a nearby family first, but he could not be found afterwards. In a statement to the ABC, his daughter said he had been found in ankle-deep water after likely having a medical incident.
As it stands, an estimated 50,000 people are isolated by rising floodwaters, with the SES issuing more than 140 warnings for places in the flood zones. However, despite the continued flooding and downpour, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) removed the Severe Weather Warning for NSW Hunter and Mid North Coast regions.
According to SES Superintendent Dallas Byrnes, the areas in NSW with the highest concern today are Grafton down to the Central Coast but they’re still keeping an eye on a “huge swathe” of New South Wales hit with the severe weather event.
“We are performing some flood rescues in the south-eastern part of the state, people are getting surprised with what’s happened on the roadways as they go to work and it’s still dark,” he said.
“It’s really dangerous out there. People should be really careful if they’re travelling.”
Federal Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain told TODAY that Australian Defence Force and interstate emergency crews are helping the SES in the relief efforts across NSW.
“We’ve had ADF doing search and rescue operations the last two nights across the region.
“We’ve obviously got a number of aerial appliances in the air as well, doing rescues as well as boats.
“There are over 2500 emergency service personnel deployed into these areas from across NSW, and we’ve seen our first deployment arrive from Victoria from a range of their emergency management agencies as well.”
Meanwhile, SES crews have carried out more than 177 flood rescues over the last 24 hours. Authorities are urging people in flood-affected areas to reach out for assistance.
For a full list of flood warnings in NSW, click HERE.
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