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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Helen Davidson, Melissa Davey and Elle Hunt

Tasmania braces itself for floods and extensive damage – rolling report

Storm foam submerges man on Queensland beach at the weekend

Closing summary

We’re going to finish our live coverage here for now. Melissa Davey will file a full wrap of the day’s events shortly. Here’s what we know:

  • Three people were confirmed dead this morning, all swept away in floodwaters. Two were in New South Wales and one in the ACT.
  • At least three more are missing – and 80-year-old man and a woman in Tasmania, and a person who went into the water late in the afternoon off rocks at the south end of Bondi beach in Sydney.
  • The clean-up in Sydney revealed shocking erosion on the northern beaches and severe damage to buildings there and at other locations down the coast, including the surf club at Coogee.
  • In Tasmania more than 100 people in Latrobe and surrounds have been evacuated by helicopter and boat.
  • Evacuation centres were opened in Devonport, Launceston, Wynyard and Deloraine. There have been significant livestock losses at dairy farms along the Mersey river.
  • Major flood warnings remain in place for the Derwent, Mersey, Forth, Meander, Macquarie, North Esk and South Esk rivers.
  • The prime minister has postponed a planned campaign stop in Tasmania as a result of the flood emergency.

Thanks for reading.

The recriminations are already beginning over what might have been done to avoid the scenes on Sydney’s northern beaches, where erosion has threatened several houses built close to the shoreline. The Sydney Morning Herald is quoting a professor from the school of geosciences at Sydney University, Andrew Short, who says governments had known about the risk for decades, but put it in the “too hard or too expensive basket”.

“Collaroy Beach is the most at-risk part of the NSW coast. It has been at risk for more than 100 years and essentially nothing has been done for those 100 years,” he says.

The ABC has linked to drone footage that shows the huge extent of flooding around Forth, just west of Devonport.

There are conflicting reports about the person reported missing in the sea off Bondi. The Sydney Morning Herald has reported a lifeguard as saying the person jumped into the sea, other early reports said they were swept off the rocks at the south end of the beach. It’s dark in Sydney now as the search continues, with several helicopters on the scene.

Sheffield, just south of Devonport in northern Tasmania, has had its heaviest rainfall on record, according to Sky’s weather news.

(The blog is in other hands briefly while Mel has a break.)

The Bureau of Meteorology has released an updated severe weather warning for abnormally high tides and damaging surf for people in the mid-north coast, Hunter, Metropolitan, Illawarra and south coast of New South Wales.

Although the low-pressure system is moving away to the south-east, large swells and king tides tonight remain a threat, it warns.

Coastal inundation in areas south of Port Macquarie may be possible three hours either side of tonight’s high tide, which is forecast around 9.20pm, it also predicts.

A storm warning released by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology for New South Wales about 4pm on 6 June 2016.

Updated

Tasmania braces itself for unprecedented weather and extensive damage

Let’s take stock.

  • As we head into the evening, the worst of the weather has passed through Queensland and New South Wales, has touched the far-eastern tip of Victoria and is currently unleashing on Tasmania, where two people remain missing in the floodwaters.
  • Today, three people have been confirmed dead, two in NSW and one in the ACT.
  • A clean-up is under way on Sydney’s northern beaches where strong winds, a king tide and 13m waves have caused massive property damage and severe sand erosion, the ABC reports. Meanwhile, crews are working hard to prevent the Coogee surf club from collapsing. Train lines have been down, front yards swept into the sea and an extensive clean-up operation has begun.
  • More than 100 people in Tasmania’s Latrobe and surrounds have been evacuated by helicopter and boat, including a family of three rescued from the roof of their car.
  • Evacuation centres are open in Devonport, Launceston, Wynyard and Deloraine, with 3,500 homes without power and significant livestock losses at dairy farms along the Mersey river.
  • A farmer near the Mersey river has been swept away by flood waters as he went to check on his livestock. Police are still searching for him, along with one other person also missing in the Tasmanian flood waters.
  • Major flood warnings remain in place for the Derwent, Mersey, Forth, Meander, North Esk and South Esk rivers.
  • Emergency workers and police have expressed their frustration at people risking their lives to cross the flood waters or swim in dangerous and rough seas. Police are currently trying to rescue a person swept off rocks at Bondi beach, NSW.
  • The prime minister has postponed a planned campaign stop in Tasmania as the state prepares for an unprecedented flood emergency.

Updated

Best to avoid the Bondi to Coogee walk for a while.

From the opposition leader:

And during a press conference in Melbourne earlier today, the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, expressed his sadness about the three lives lost.

Updated

Mayor says the Latrobe area in Tasmania is facing an "unprecedented" situation

Many residents have been evacuated from the northern Tasmanian town of La Trobe on the Mersey river. The mayor of Latrobe council, Peter Freshney, is being interviewed by ABC News 24 about the mass evacuations that have occurred there. The area is bracing itself for a peak in the river flow between now and 7pm, an unprecedented situation. Many locals are saying they have never seen flooding like this before.

Give us an update on those evacuations, have most people been moved out?

The majority of people who have been affected by the flooding have been evacuated. Just over 110 at this stage. We’ve been utilising both helicopter and army vehicles to evacuate those people and they’re being evacuated out to higher ground and in some cases to an emergency evacuation centre that we set up.

What are your major concerns this afternoon and overnight?

That we try and evacuate anybody left who whose property is inundated with water. We can’t be absolutely certain of that and given that we’re expecting a peak in the river flow between now and 7pm tonight, we’re sitting here awaiting that peak and working as hard as we can to ensure that all the people who need evacuating are evacuated.

This is an unprecedented event for Launceston ... what is it like in your role to manage this situation, to know how to direct people and allay their fears around this?

We’ve got a really good team here and we have the emergency services control centre set up here in our council chambers. The mayor can only be as good as the people who serve him.

We’re breaking new ground here. We had a [similar event] here in the early ‘70s, it’s rated similar but the circumstances have changed. The impact of the water and the flow of the water is unknown. And as I say we’re getting major flows from upstream and getting reports of significant peaks and they’re really starting to worry us.

How major does the damage look?

We will have major infrastructure damage, without question, people will have property damage to their houses and the like, we understand there’s been significant stock loss, hundreds of cattle have been lost on particular farms upstream.

We’ve seen a number of dead cattle and the like being washed downstream so it’s going to impact right across our municipality and in the wider region in terms of personal properties farms and industry, our local community, it will have a huge impact that there’ll be huge cost. But we’re really focusing on the people and rescuing them and a lot of work done to ensure that we can help them as best we can in the recovery process.

Updated

Tasmania’s police minister, Rene Hidding, has urged people to stay away from the water.

Can I call on all Tasmanians to be absolutely responsible in the coming days. There is no circumstances where anybody should risk their lives.

Don’t try to take nature on – it leads to tragedy. We already have grave fears for two of our fellow citizens and we pray for them.

There is simply no case to enter flood waters with a motor vehicle or in person.

Updated

The Tamar river in Tasmania has been smashed by the storms.

Updated

"What do we have to say to get the message across?" – NSW police frustrated at risk-takers

NSW police are frustrated that people are still entering the water despite numerous warning still in place not to take on floodwaters or beaches.

They have just issued a statement urging people to be sensible. It comes after police and emergency crews faced the horrific task of recovering the bodies of two men from waterways at Leppington and Mittagong this morning. Police say:

NSW police and the State Emergency Service are at a loss as to what more can be said and done to get the message across about the dangers of entering flood waters. Police and emergency services this morning recovered the bodies of two men from waterways at Leppington and Mittagong.

The acting assistant commissioner, Kyle Stewart, said despite the constant warnings about the dangers of entering flood areas we now have two men who have died.

“It is a tragedy these two lives have been lost. We simply do not know how either of these two men came to be in the flood waters. But what we know is that their deaths show just how dangerous flood waters are,” Stewart said.

“What do we have to say to get the message across? Emergency service personnel this morning have had the devastating task of retrieving the bodies of the men.

“Flood waters are deadly – we can’t put it any other way.”

Emergency service personnel are frustrated at the number of flood rescues conducted over the weekend, which tied up valuable resources because of warnings about entering flood affected areas being ignored.

Some of the flood rescues since Friday include four teenagers from the surf at Stockton and two tourists from the water at Foster yesterday.

“While the east coast low has now passed northern NSW and Sydney, the south coast is being hit,” Stewart said. “We can’t be complacent. Please heed our advice, your life could depend on it.”

The message comes as emergency crews are currently trying to rescue police a person swept away by waves at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

Updated

Back in NSW, AAP reports that surf lifesavers and police are attempting to rescue a person swept away by wild waves at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. The beach has been closed to swimmers and surfers due to the wild weather.

The Mercury is reporting that one of the two people missing in Tasmanian floodwaters is an 81-year-old man, who was swept into the rising Ouse river from his backyard:

Tasmania police sergeant Adrian Leary said the elderly man was swept away at around 8am by a flash flood after feeding his sheep.

The property is alongside the Ouse river and part of the backyard is under water. “We believe initially he had gone out to check some stock which were nearby his house on a small rise,” Leary said.

“By the time he checked them and came back it’s possible he may have slipped and struck by a flash flood and swept away.

“His wife has seen him sink to his knees but other than that there are no other witnesses.”

Sgt Leary said a rescue helicopter, police boat and ground crews were still looking but that rising river levels were problematic.

“We have some grave concerns for the safety of this elderly gentleman,” he said.

“The family very upset at the moment and hope is still there but the longer we go the more concerned we are.”

Sgt Leary said police had been advised river levels were still rising and were considering closing the Ouse river bridge as it could be completely submerged by water in the next few hours.

Updated

Some more pics of the destruction currently unfolding in Tassie:

Coogee surf club in NSW is on the brink of collapse. Crews are working hard to prevent that.

According to AAP, dangerous swells have washed an entire section of the club, on Sydney’s eastern beaches, into the ocean:

Walls in the club’s weights room have been knocked down by the swell, which continues to buffet the coast, leaving the room exposed to the wild conditions.

Bars on the windows have been bent backwards and large pieces of gym and weight equipment have also been thrown across the room.

Structural engineers have worked to shore up the roof but the potential for collapse is still a major concern for NSW Fire and Rescue crews, who have already begun the clean-up.

Insurance assessors are also on scene to determine whether the club can be saved, or if it will need to be torn down.

The club’s president, Mark Doepel, said the club’s ability to provide surf lifesaving services had been threatened.

“We’ve had significant damage in our boat shed, we’ve lost almost all our lifesaving gear, but more dramatically we’ve had significant damage to the surf club – we’ve lost the greater part of our eastern wall and we are under significant challenge as a club,” Doepel said.

“We are very much up for this challenge, we are very threatened in relation to our ability to offer surf lifesaving to the community but this is one of the oldest clubs in Australia, this is one of the largest clubs in Australia, we are going to come together as members and with the support of the community we are determined to rebuild this club.”

MP and surf club member Matt Thistlethwaite pledged his support for the club in federal parliament to get vital infrastructure back up and running.

Randwick city council has also reported damage in central Randwick and Maroubra beach and the mayor, Noel D’Souza, has urged residents in a statement to remain patient while the damage is assessed and the clean-up process begins.

Updated

As the damaging weather unleashes on Tasmania, NSW premier Mike Baird is inspecting the devastation the storm left in its wake in his state.

But the extensive damage to beaches and property “goes into insignificance” given three men had lost their lives, he said. From AAP:

We come with a heavy heart,” Baird said at Collaroy beach, where several million-dollar plus homes were hanging precariously over the sand after being smashed by eight metre waves that washed away 10 to 15 metres of the coastline.

“It was a storm so ferocious, it took life from us.”

Police confirmed on Monday that the body of a 65-year-old man was found in a car in Mittagong Creek near Bowral, after the man was reported missing on Sunday.

Emergency services descended on Mittagong Creek on Sunday evening after a car was spotted in floodwaters with its hazard lights flashing.

On Monday morning the man’s body was discovered inside his silver Mazda.

The man is yet to be formally identified and investigations are ongoing.

The body of another man was found in a white ute at Leppington in Sydney’s southwest on Monday after police and State Emergency Service crews searched the flood-ravaged area into Sunday night without success.

Police divers retrieved the man’s body at about 11.30am on Monday and efforts are underway to winch his ute from Rileys Creek. News of the men’s deaths came after a 37-year-old Canberra man died after his car was caught in floodwaters near the Cotter Dam.

To Tasmania, where the Emu River in Burnie and the North Esk River in Launceston have broken their banks. There are now six catchments where major flood warnings apply in the state. Two people have been reported missing.

Updated

At Woolgoolga, north of Coffs Harbour, about 20% of banana crops have been destroyed, AAP reports.

“Some farmers are reporting that up to 50% of their bananas have been wiped away,” NSW Farmers spokesman Michael Burt said on Monday.

Meanwhile, there are reports that 1000 chickens have been killed in storms on the NSW mid-north coast, as oyster farmers at Port Macquarie assess damage to their catcheries.

However, Dan Cooper from NSW Farmers said the rain had been great for the grain industry.

He said farmers in northwest NSW received a 50-70mm dumping, and those in the state’s southwest were also singing in the rain.

“We’ll go close to having a full plant across NSW for the first time in about four years,” he said.

“You certainly wouldn’t want to see another couple of inches, but it’s been great start to the winter season.”

Updated

This is Elliott, a very wet wombat, aka a “mudbat”.

The photo was taken by Phil Melzer – who along with his partner, Donna Stepan – runs the Sleepy Burrows sanctuary for orphaned or at-risk wombats in New South Wales.

Elliott the wombat turns mudbat at Sleepy Burrows after devastating rains on the southern tablelands of NSW wreck sanctuary infrastructure and flood burrows. Cynthia holding Elliott. Photo: Phil Melzer

Updated

Here’s the most recent news take from AAP.

“The flood waters yesterday ... were extremely strong, savage, with a lot of debris, large logs coming down the river,” ACT police sergeant Harry Hains told reporters in Canberra. “The force was enough to flip a two-tonne ute.”

Police and emergency workers again warned people not to drive through flood waters for any reason.

“These types of weather conditions, extreme weather conditions we’ve experienced, do lead adventure-seeking type people to seek mud with their four-wheel-drives,” Hains said.

“There is no risk worth taking to cross a flooded river to go and seek some piece of dirt to drive your four-wheel drive on.”

Tasmania has been hit particularly hard by the weather. There’s been significant rainfall across the northwest, north and northeast of the state and that’s led to flooding. Four evacuation centres are currently open in the north of the state – in Launceston, Deloraine, East Devonport, Wynyard – for people who have been displaced by floods.

State emergency services and other authorities held a briefing, broadcast on Facebook Live by Launceston’s Examiner Newspaper, at 1:30pm. A spokesperson called on all Tasmanians to be “absolutely responsible in the coming days” and to stay away from floodwaters:

“There is no circumstance where anybody should risk their lives, their vehicles or anything anywhere near floodwaters. Anywhere there are floodwaters, it’s not anywhere Tasmanians should be. ... We already have grave fears for two of our fellow citizens.”

The 24 hours to 9am in Canberra comprised the wettest June day on record.

Updated

Labor leader Bill Shorten has addressed the storms on Twitter.

He was in Melbourne this morning, where there are blue skies (though the weather is forecast to deteriorate overnight).

Banana, sugarcane and oyster farmers in northern NSW are counting the cost after their crops were slammed by heavy storms, AAP reports.

Swathes of sugarcane crops are still underwater after floods ravaged the region over the weekend, while wild winds battered banana plantations at Coffs Harbour, said NSW Farmers spokesman Michael Burt.

It could have an impact on prices down the track. But not everyone is struggling: grain farmers across inland regions have reportedly welcomed the rain.

AAP reports that Sydney’s eastern beaches are still being slammed by dangerously strong waves and high tides, with Coogee Surf Club now at risk of collapse. Helicopters and drones have been used to assess the damage, while two NSW Fire and Rescue crews arrived on the scene just after 11am.

Coogee local Alan Lloyd, who belongs to the historical society, said he had only seen similar conditions once before but never such bad damage.

“The old Coogee pier foundations have been exposed, there’s devastation along the handrails and I’ve never seen rocks exposed on the beach there before,” he told AAP.

He also had a message for the half-dozen surfers who paddled out this morning.

“They’re crazy. Not only are they putting their own lives at risk, but if something happens and they need to be rescued they’re putting others’ lives at risk too,” he said.

Updated

In NSW, ABC Central West is reporting some road closures in the region. Many don’t apply to the average car but it goes to show how long the clean-up from the storm can reasonably be expected to go on for.

All unsealed roads within Lachlan Shire, MR347 Dandaloo Road between Albert and Bogan River, the Bland Shire Council area and Narromine Shire are closed to vehicles over three tonnes until 10am Wednesday, when their condition will be reviewed.

In Narromine Shire, Bulgandramine Road is closed in Parkes Shire between Bulgandarmine Bridge and Peak Hill near Towalba Stud.

Tullamore Rd MR 354 is closed in Parkes Shire at Gretel Creek.

Updated

Collaroy beach, before and after the Sydney storm:

Composite of two images of Collaroy beach in Sydney, Australia, before storm damage sustained on the weekend of 4-6 June 2016, and after.

The pool by the flagpole in the left-hand image? That’s the one tumbling down to the beach in the right.

Updated

The army has been called into Latrobe, Tasmania, where there’s widespread flooding. An elderly man was rescued from his home there by helicopter earlier this morning, but his wife is one of the two people still missing in the state.

Floodwater levels should have peaked by now, but Fairfax reporter Kathryn Bermingham’s footage shows the extent of the devastation.

Updated

Power outages were reported in many areas of the east coast yesterday, with Ausgrid advising yesterday evening that 21,000 homes were without electricity and that crews would be working through the night to restore services.

This morning, Ausgrid said that 18,000 customers were reconnected overnight and 8,000 remained to be connected.

Its outages map shows widespread blackouts, some first reported on Saturday, as well as planned interruptions as Ausgrid works to restore services.

Twitter, too, shows many Sydney residents still in the dark about when they’ll be back on the grid.

Hello, and thanks for following along our coverage of these devastating storms.

Police have just confirmed that three people have died – two in New South Wales, one in the ACT – while two are missing in Tasmania.

I’m taking over from my colleague Melissa Davey for the next hour or so as we follow the emergency services response and clear-up efforts.

Here are some striking images from Twitter of the aftermath at Coogee – including serious damage to the Surf Life Saving Club – in Sydney.

Midday summary - three confirmed deaths, while police search for missing people in Tasmania

The storms which affected the east-coast of Australia over the weekend have had some devastating consequences, with three lives lost and others still missing. One body has been recovered in the ACT and a further two in NSW. To recap:

  • The body of a 37-year-old man has been recovered from the Cotter River in the ACT. The man was found stuck unable to cross the river in his 4WD at about 4.30pm on Sunday. As rescue crews were trying to reach him, his car was swept away by the floodwaters, flipped and disappeared from view. His body was subsequently recovered early this morning.
  • At about 5pm on Sunday, emergency services were called to Leppington in NSW after receiving information that a vehicle was being washed away on a causeway. The search resumed at 6.30am today, and police found the body of a man in a vehicle. The man’s body was retrieved with the assistance of police divers at about 11.30am.
  • In a separate incident at Bowral, also in NSW, emergency services were called to Mittagong Creek at 5.30pm on Sunday following reports a car was trapped in floodwaters . Police were unable to locate the vehicle. At 8.30am today, a vehicle was located in Mittagong Creek and police located the body of a 65-year-old man inside, who is yet to be formally identified.
  • Meanwhile in Tasmania, police have grave fears for the safety of two elderly people in separate flooding incidents in Ouse and Latrobe. The storm has largely passed NSW and Queensland but is now affecting Tasmania and the far eastern corner of Victoria.
  • The NSW premier, Mike Baird, is inspecting damage in Narrabeen and at Collaroy Beach Club today. Entire stretches of beach are covered in debris and buildings along the beach have been destroyed, suburbs have been left flooded and the clean-up is underway following the weather in Queensland and New South Wales over the weekend.

Updated

NSW police have issued a statement about the two men who have been found in floodwaters, one in Leppington and one in Bowral.

Police divers have retrieved the bodies of two men in separate cars which were swept into flood waters at Bowral and in Sydney’s south west yesterday.

About 5pm on Sunday, emergency services were called to Anthony Road, Leppington, after receiving information of a white utility entering a causeway and being washed away.

Police from Camden Local Area Command commenced a search of the flood affected area, with the assistance from the State Emergency Service, without success.

The search resumed at 6.30am today, and police located the body of a man in a vehicle.

The man’s body was retrieved with the assistance of police divers about 11.30am.

In a separate incident at Bowral, emergency services were called to Mittagong Creek about 5.30pm yesterday (Sunday 5 June 2016), following reports a car was seen in flood waters with its hazard lights flashing. Police from The Hume Local Area Command and the State Emergency Service conducted a search; however, they were unable to locate the vehicle.

At 8.30am today, a vehicle was located in Mittagong Creek on Mittagong Road, Bowral. Police recovered the vehicle and located the body of a 65-year-old man who is yet to be formally identified.

Reports will be prepared for the Coroner.

Updated

Tasmanian police hold grave concerns for two elderly people missing as heavy rain drenches the island state, AAP reports.

Search and rescue specialists are searching in Ouse after reports a man in his 80s may have been swept away by flood waters.

Another elderly man was rescued from his Latrobe home earlier on Monday morning by helicopter as water inundated his home but his wife is missing.

Updated

Police confirm two NSW floodwater deaths and a search for a third is underway

According to AAP: Police have confirmed the body of a 65-year-old man was found on Monday in a vehicle in Mittagong Creek near Bowral after he was reported missing on Sunday.
The body of another man has been found in a ute at Leppington in Sydney’s southwest, with police searching for another person who was reportedly swept away.

Updated

Guardian Australia’s Graham Russell has taken some photos outside Avoca Beach surf club today, which is about 95km north of Sydney.

Graham tells me: “The boat ramp has been dislodged, recycle bins on the concrete slab are gone, the club has been sandbagged, the walkway is half gone, bricks are all over the car park, but only a couple of houses appear to be damaged. Surf looks awesome so plenty of snappers about. Consensus seems to be it’s not as bad as ‘74. Still saw a jet skier out.”

Updated

Josh Bartlett, a reporter with Southern Highland News, reports that a man has died after being trapped in his vehicle in Mittagong Creek. It is unclear whether this is one of the two deaths NSW police are referring to. Bartlett reports:

On Monday morning, local police and assisting crew discovered a 65-year-old Mittagong man behind the wheel of his silver Mazda in Mittagong Creek (behind Bowral Swimming Pool).

Chief Inspector John Sheehan said police were notified at 5.30pm on Sunday about a car being possibly stuck in the creek.

Chief Insp Sheehan said police with assistance from SES, Goulburn Police Rescue and council crew discovered the man deceased in his vehicle at about 8.30am on Monday.

“We are preparing a report for the coroner and investigations will continue,” he said.

Meanwhile, another body has been found in Sydney’s south-west, the ABC reports. Again, unclear if this is one of the two deaths NSW police are shortly to issue a statement about.

NSW police say they will be issuing a statement shortly about the two deaths in that state.

Tragically, it appears there may have also been floodwater-related deaths in NSW. I’ll try to get more details shortly.

From ABC News 24:

That east coast low is now moving towards Tasmania, where four of the State’s major rivers are at bursting point ahead of more torrential rain.

They’re expecting another 100mm there over the next few days. The State Emergency Service says river levels in Launceston have already surpassed those from back in 1929 when floods left 5,000 people homeless. There are major flood warnings for [several] river basins. There’s also a risk of flooding around Kimberley, Railton, Latrobe and Forth in the north-west.

But the good news is, people can be reassured that there’s been a lot of changes obviously to emergency response and arrangements since 1929.

Updated

In the wake of the tragic death, the chief executive officer of the ACT State Emergency Service, Conrad Barr, has urged people not to drive through floodwaters. It has to be said that there is no indication that the 37 year-old who died was deliberately chasing floodwaters to drive through in his four-wheel drive. The circumstances leading up to the tragedy is a matter of police investigation. However, Barr warns:

Don’t try to drive through floodwaters. It doesn’t matter what you think, the current is often a lot faster than it appears, and sometimes under a couple of centimetres of dirty, muddy water you can have part of a roadway or great big holes, boulders, logs, all sorts of things that can catch your vehicle and it doesn’t take too much water and pressure against the side of a vehicle to turn it into a temporary boat.

[I] can’t stress more highly, please don’t try to drive through floodwaters, and steer clear of things like storm-water drains and all those sorts of things. I know it might look spectacular but it’s far safer being inside, out of the rain.

More from Sgt Hains, who said police came across the man stuck in his vehicle and unable to cross floodwaters at about 4.30pm yesterday. His body was not found and recovered until this morning, Hains said.

During the course of trying to ascertain a safe method to extract that male, the vehicle has shifted and the male has disappeared from view along with the vehicle. A search was then undertaken and a short time later, police, along with emergency services, ACT Fire and Rescue, located what we believe to be a a body stuck in raging floodwaters on an island in the middle of the river.

Police and emergency services worked on a plan together to try to retrieve the deceased. It was not safe to to so last night and police maintained a presence there all night. And this morning, ACT emergency services and ACT policing resources reconvened at the scene and have retrieved the body of a 37-year-old male.

Updated

Police say the body of a 37-year-old man has been recovered from the Cotter River

Police are holding a press conference about the body found in the Cotter River, and the details are tragic. Station Sgt Harry Hains says:

We got a call in relation to two young males who’d been out four-wheel driving and they realised they couldn’t get back across the river. Police attended, along with emergency services, Fire and Rescue, to go and assist those males.

In the course of trying to locate a safe point for those males, we located another vehicle, stuck in the river, with a male in the vehicle. That is the vehicle which was subsequently swept by the floodwaters, flipped and disappeared from view, with the male’s body subsequently being recovered early this morning.

So that man was still alive when police...

That is correct.

He said the man was in a four-wheel drive, and that the car was yet to be recovered. Hains said he understood the man had been trying to cross a bush track. The man’s family had been notified, he said.

I’d like to also say it’s an absolute tragedy and our condolences go out to the family.

Hains added that he did not know why the man had been out driving. But he issued a warning to anyone considering driving through the floodwaters.

What I would like to say is that these types of weather conditions, extreme weather conditions we’ve experienced, do lead adventure-seeking type people to seek mud with their four-wheel drives. There is no risk worth taking to cross a flooded river to go and seek some piece of dirt to drive your four-wheel drive on. If a river looks too deep to cross, it’s too deep to cross.

Updated

Meanwhile, in Victoria.

Richard Carlyon, a senior forecaster with the state’s Bureau of Meteorology says the wild weather has only “just glanced” Victoria. The far eastern corner of the state in East Gippsland is the only region affected by the weather system, Carlyon says. But things should be back to normal there by this evening.

“Heavy rain is still continuing in East Gippsland but it has started to ease a little this morning,” Carlyon says.

“We’ll see that be maintained for the next six hours and then the rain will clear later this afternoon. By tonight they should be back to mostly fine conditions. We have four flood warnings current and we’ll keep an eye on the rivers in East Gippsland, but this weather has only really just glanced our state.”

The heaviest rainfall in the last two hours were in Genoa, with 171mm, Gabo island with 157mm and Mallacoota with 153mm.

I have just spoken to ACT police media, who have confirmed a body has been found in the Cotter river area, but that is all they can say at this stage. The SES and police will be holding a media conference at 11am with more details.

Updated

Some tragic news this morning. The ABC is reporting that a body has been found in the floodwaters.

Commuters in and around Sydney are being affected this morning, with train lines covered in debris, Transport NSW says. AAP reports:

The light rail between central and Lilyfield is also closed due to branches falling on overhead wires.

A land slip at Guildford has closed the T5 Cumberland Line between Blacktown and Campbelltown and the T2 South and Inner West Line from Granville to Cabramatta.

Flooding has closed the South Coast Line between Wollongong and Bomaderry and between Wollongong and Port Kembla.

More than 85,000 homes and businesses on the central coast, in Sydney and the Shoalhaven region were without power over the weekend due to the storms.

Ausgrid says it’s working to restore power to about 8,000 homes in Sydney’s north and northern beaches, while crews from Endeavour Energy have to help around 4,000 customers in Sydney’s west, the southern highlands, the Illawarra and the south coast.

Updated

A round up of the damage at Collaroy.

Seven beachfront homes and an apartment block were evacuated last night. Collaroy Surf Club has been severely damaged by surf and the Beach Club, which lost its balcony to the eight metre waves overnight, has announced it is closed until further notice.

Need some adrenalin with your morning coffee? This is a photo from the venue on Sunday morning. Given the damage since, the “enter at your own risk” joke is perhaps not quite as funny today.

About 4,200 homes in Tasmania are without power, the Mercury reports.

Residents and authorities are bracing for further heavy rain and wind as the east coast low moves slowly over the state.

A gale warning is in place for: Frederick Henry Bay and Norfolk Bay, Storm Bay, Banks Strait and Franklin Sound, East of Flinders Island, Upper East Coast, Lower East Coast, South East Coast and South West Coast.

There is a strong wind warning for Derwent Estuary and Channel.

The Mercury reports evacuation centres have been set up at the East Davenport Recreation Ground, Caroline St in East Devonport, the Railway Institute Hall, and Station St behind the airport.

Updated

Let’s not forget the animals also suffering through the miserable weather and destructive floods. The last post had a sea turtle, now for a horse.

Readers have sent in their photos and videos of the wild weather. A few selections are below. You can also contribute yours here, we’d love to see them.

This hole opened up overnight. Photo taken at low tide Sunday 5 June. Beach mostly gone already with king tide still to come.

Paul Wachter, a ranger with the Northern Beaches Council, called Jacqui Marlow, a Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife carer, early on Sunday morning 5th June 2016 to attend to a green turtle had been washed ashore by huge seas on Palm Beach. Jacqui took the turtle to Taronga Zoo where Taronga Zoo vet nurse Liz said that it was not clear why the animal had been washed ashore and that it was clearly exhausted. Liz said that Taronga Zoo has a good history of rehabilitating and subsequently releasing green turtles that are brought to them for care. The process of rehabilitation is a slow one, Liz said, and it could be months before the young turtle is well enough to be released.

Crazy waves hitting cliff at Bondi Beach

The drama is not over for the Sydney region yet. The State Emergency Service reports bridge closures on the Hawkesbury river, a number of roads closed due to flooding, and evacuation orders were in place for parts of Picton, low-lying parts of Woronora and Lansvale.

Ferries have resume between Manly and the city, but remain cancelled from Palm Beach. Buses are replacing ferries between Rydalmere and Parramatta. There are partial closures and delays on the trains. Buses will at some point replace light rail between Central and Lilyfield (but they’re not there yet).

And this picture was just posted from Tasmania. Don’t drive through flood waters people!

Updated

Here is some of the devastation at Collaroy and Narrabeen. The combination of the east coast low, a king tide and the wind direction was bad news for the beachside houses.

About 8,000 houses were still without power in Sydney’s north this morning.

The erosion has exposed sea walls and house foundations built in the 1960s and 70s.

Sydney’s eastern beaches didn’t escape it either, with 12-metre waves recorded.

Updated

Far East Gippsland in Victoria is expected to cop heavy rainfall, and is on flood watch. Minor flood warnings are in place for the Genoa and Snowy rivers, and a moderate warning for the Bombala river.

In Tasmania SES crews rescued several people in the north and northwest after they tried to drive through floodwaters (please don’t do that!) and got stranded.

The Central North, North East, East Coast and South East districts as well as parts of the North West Coast, Central Plateau and Midlands forecast districts are expected to receive heavy rains which may cause flash flooding.

A major flood warning has been issued for the Meander River Basin.

Damaging winds at speeds of about 50 km/h, gusting up to 90 km/h are forecast for the Furneaux Islands, North East and East Coast districts and parts of the Midlands and South East districts.

AAP reports residents of the Kimberley, Railton, Latrobe and Forth region are warned they may see flooding as the Mersey and Forth Rivers rise faster than anticipated.

Some residents in the Wynyard area were forced to move due to the rising water levels, while the Emu River at Wivenhoe has burst its banks and reportedly flooded a nearby industrial area, said the report.

Updated

Good morning, and welcome to our coverage of the wild and destructive weather lashing the east coast of Australia.

Entire stretches of beach are gone and buildings have partially collapsed into the ocean, suburbs have flooded and residents have been evacuated as a monster storm made its way through Queensland and New South Wales over the weekend.

Victorians and Tasmanians are now on alert as the damaging weather makes its way south.

Collaroy and Narrabeen beaches, in Sydney’s north, are largely gone after monster seas combined with a king tide to rip up to 15 metres of sand and soil away. Several houses and the Collaroy Services club are teetering on the edge, having lost balconies and backyards. Incredible pictures show an in-ground pool torn from a yard. I’ll bring a round of of video and photos shortly.

Updated

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