SCDF to start search-and-rescue operations in flood-hit Australia on Saturday

SINGAPORE - The Singapore Civil Defence Force’s (SCDF) 16-member team in flood-stricken New South Wales (NSW) to help in rescue efforts will begin search and rescue operations on Saturday.

SCDF said in a Facebook post that 14 of

the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Dart) officers

would be split into two teams of seven travelling to separate locations – Parkes and Wagga Wagga respectively.

Meanwhile, Dart commander Lok Wee Keong and an operations support officer will head to NSW State Emergency Service’s headquarters in Wollongong to oversee and coordinate the rescue efforts with their counterparts.

The contingent, Operation Lionheart, arrived on Thursday morning. They familiarised themselves with the equipment used by their counterparts, including an inflatable rescue boat and an extendable rescue pole. The 14 Dart officers deployed have advanced lifesaver skills, advanced diver and rescue diver certifications and powered pleasurecraft licences.

South-east Australia has been

hit hard by a wave of devastating floods

over the course of a few months, as continuous bouts of torrential rainfall caused rivers to swell.

In NSW, more than 110 flood warnings had been issued as at Friday evening.

Entire towns have been cut off as floodwaters submerged buildings and roads, with thousands left homeless.

Days of flooding have left local emergency services teams fatigued, driving local authorities to seek international aid to supplement its flood emergency response – the state’s largest to date.

Besides the 16 SCDF personnel, a 24-person team from New Zealand is also helping, while a team from the United States is expected to arrive soon.

This is on top of the 200 troops from the Australian Defence Force who are currently deployed in the area.

Two people have been reported missing so far, with a possible third, while the body of a man was spotted in floodwaters at Eugowra on Monday.

Local police said the body of a 60-year-old woman who had gone missing was found on Wednesday, while the search was still on for a missing 85-year-old man.

This is the fourth bout of flooding to hit eastern Australia this year, brought on by three consecutive years of La Nina – a weather phenomenon typically associated with increased rainfall.

In March, flooding in NSW and Queensland killed at least 20 people, caused mass evacuations, and resulted in damage worth at least A$5 billion (S$4.6 billion).