More than 48,800 people and 23,200 dwellings were isolated by record flood waters on the mid-north coast of New South Wales on Wednesday, the State Emergency Service said, as it predicted another 200mm of rain in the next 24-48 hours.
Residents described anxious waits for rescue as unprecedented flooding struck the Manning river, inundating homes and businesses across the region. The Manning river has already surpassed its 1929 record flood level.
Andrew Gissing, the CEO of Natural Hazards Research Australia, said the record breaking flooding along the Manning river had an estimated frequency of occurrence of one in 500 years on average.
As 109 flood warnings were issued, 19 at emergency warning level, people in Kempsey CBD, Gladstone and Smithtown had been asked to evacuate.
The SES had made 289 rescues since midnight, the bulk in Taree, Wingham and Glenthorne, and had nine helicopters working the area.
“There are some streets where floodwaters have cut off every home, and we’re going door-to-door to check on residents,” the SES assistant commissioner, Dean Storey, said.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said in a post on X on Wednesday evening that “hearts are with all those impacted by the devastating floods across NSW”.
“Emergency services are working tirelessly to assist those in need,” he said.
Glenthorne resident Jordan Halloran on Wednesday morning gave the ABC an eyewitness account of flooding that had left her stranded on the top level of her house with her partner and two-year-old son.
“The main concern is our two-year-old son who is here with us and two dogs. Even more of a priority is our neighbour’s house which is about to be inundated with water,” she said.
“We’re awaiting rescue since 1am. They said the only way to get us out is with a chopper.”
Halloran said the amount of water exceeded what she had experienced during floods in the town in 2021.
The Halloran family was rescued just before noon on Wednesday. Sam Halloran posted video on Facebook of a NSW police helicopter crew coming to their aid, and wrote: “We are now all out and safe including our two doggos”.
The Manning river at Taree had flooded at a level not seen before, surpassing the 1929 record of 5.9 metres, reaching 6.37 metres at 9am on Wednesday , the Bureau of Meteorology’s Steve Bernasconi said.
Bernasconi said the 412mm of rainfall Taree had received over two days was five times its monthly average rainfall for May and a third of its average annual rainfall.
Eleanor Spence, a resident of nearby Wingham, said on Wednesday morning she had helped a friend located close to floodwaters move to safety.
They were waiting out the weather at Spence’s house which is on higher ground. Spence said the rain gauge at her property had collected 464mm over the past 48 hours.
“There’s dozens of houses in Wingham that have been inundated with water,” Spence told Guardian Australia.
“Wingham’s a reasonably hilly town but there’s some really low-lying areas. A lot of those houses were inundated in 2021 as well, so those poor people four years later have again had the same experience.”
To reach her friend, Spence drove as far as she safely could and then walked along a dry service road next to the railway line. She said she had encountered people and their pets sheltering from the floods at the station.
“At least one of those people their house was full of water. It’s really sad,” she said.
“It’s a really big impact.”
‘Warnings will increase very soon’
The NSW SES commissioner, Mike Wassing, told a media conference on Wednesday the slow-moving rain system had travelled through the Hunter, mid-north coast and was beginning to head towards the north coast. SES efforts were currently focused on south Taree, Glenthorne and Coffs Harbour, he said.
“We’ve got significant numbers of helicopters, nine helicopters in total, who are working in that area, ” Wassing said.
The NSW emergency services minister, Jihad Dib, said on Wednesday: “For those people who are waiting to be rescued, we know that this takes time. We are working on it is an absolute priority to get you there.”
At a separate media conference, the NSW SES northern zone commander, chief superintendent Andrew Cribb, said emergency services would be focused on the Hastings and Macleay and Nambucca catchments.
“We need the residents of those areas to listen to the warnings. We will be escalating the warnings at the appropriate times in those areas, you can expect that those warnings will increase very soon,” he said on Wednesday.
“Move to higher ground, move to evacuation centers if you are requested to or prepare to isolate. If you are going to isolate, please be prepared with medications, food, water, because isolations may occur for a long period of time,” he said.
The weather bureau warned of “lots of flooding to come” after intense rain caused the Manning River to rise to its highest level in almost 100 years.
A Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist, Dean Narramore, forecast 50mm to 150mm rainfall in parts of the state north of Forster on Wednesday, with isolated falls in excess of 200m possible.
Narramore said some areas had been inundated by 300mm to 400mm of rain – the town of Taree even more – causing widespread flash flooding and major river flooding.
He said the rain would not ease until the weekend.
“[There are] still two days of rainfall on the way, with lots of flooding to come.”
Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Taree, Kempsey, Sawtell, Dorrigo, Barrington Tops, Wingham and Yarrowitch were in line for more rain.
Gissing said “though it is too early to know the extent that climate change has contributed to the extreme rainfalls, we do know that under a warmer climate that our atmosphere holds more water and that heavy rain events are more likely.”
Locals around the Manning river were warned to evacuate on Tuesday evening.
By Wednesday morning the river was at a level “never seen before” at Taree, the SES said.
In one of the more significant incidents overnight, 24 people were rescued from the flooded Pacific Highway at Ghini Ghini.
In the state’s Hunter region, the Myall River is among the areas on flood watch, with residents warned to monitor forecasts and rainfall and be ready to move to higher ground.
For Ray, a cleaner at Bulahdelah’s Plough Inn Hotel, the rising river has already caused damage.
“My houseboat went,” he said. “I was looking across the jetty [Tuesday] morning and it wasn’t there. It’s the icing on the cake, [the weather has been on and off for the last couple of weeks.”
Catie McLeod contributed to this report
