Three dead in Australia after torrential rain ravages rural towns

SYDNEY –

Flash flooding on Australia’s south-east coast

has killed three people and cut off towns, isolating tens of thousands of residents as officials on May 22 warned that more downpours were expected over the next 24 hours.

Major flooding hit several rural towns in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, with most of the Mid North Coast region facing further heavy rainfall through May 22.

The police said the body of a 63-year-old man was found in a flooded home near Taree, more than 300km north of Sydney, while another body believed to be that of a missing man in his 30s had been discovered in flood waters on the Mid North Coast.

The body of a 60-year-old woman was also found in her vehicle west of Coffs Harbour, police said. The woman had been cautioned against driving through the floods by an officer late on May 21, before becoming trapped and calling for help. Emergency services were unable to locate her in time.

Police said they were still searching for a missing man.

“This natural disaster has been terrible for this community,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said during a media briefing.

“There are 140 flood warnings, 50,000 people are in the range where they have been asked to prepare to evacuate and could be isolated, and there’s been 9,500 properties in the direct vicinity. So, we’re far from out of the woods here.”

More than 100 schools were closed on May 22, while thousands of properties remained without power.

Cundletown in the Mid North Coast has been entirely cut off by floods, said Ms Nicole Sammut, a nurse caring for 67 elderly residents at an aged care home, which is also being used as a shelter by emergency teams.

“I came to work on Tuesday (May 20) and haven’t left,” Ms Sammut told Reuters. “We are up on a hill, but behind us is all water. We are isolated. I’ve never seen the water this high.”

The Manning River in nearby Taree had exceeded a 100-year-old flood record, the emergency authorities said.

Ms Sherinah Peck was evacuated at 2am local time on May 21 from her farmhouse on the river, but her belongings were swept away, with some furniture later washing up on the coast.

As she searched on May 22 at Old Bar beach, strewn with debris and dead and lost livestock, for a treasured bicycle that belonged to her late mother, Ms Peck was knocked over by a cow and injured, she said.

“The cow was distressed – a wave came. I had to scramble up the sand,” she told Reuters.

More heavy rain

A slow-moving coastal trough has dumped about four months of rain over the past two days, cutting off entire towns and leaving residents stranded on roofs and the second storeys of their homes as rescuers struggled to access the area by boat or air.

Mr Minns apologised to those who had to wait for several hours for rescue crews, but gave assurance that efforts had been ramped up with 2,500 emergency services personnel deployed on site.

Around 590 flood rescues had been carried out, dozens of them by helicopter, NSW Police said. The helicopters have also been directing more boat rescues.

“Some significant rescues have been made, but unfortunately we have lost a number of lives,” Assistant Commissioner David Waddell said at a press conference.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology forecast that some areas could receive up to 200mm of rain till May 23, triggering life-threatening flash flooding, before the weather system is expected to weaken and track south towards Sydney. REUTERS