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More than four months' worth of rain has deluged parts of New South Wales in just two days, triggering a natural disaster and leaving at least one person dead.
The body of a 63-year-old man was recovered from a flooded home roughly 300 kilometers north of Sydney, in a severely affected town where roads have been swept away and farmland devastated.
Authorities have “grave concerns” for three others still missing: a 60-year-old woman and two men, aged 25 and 49.
“We need to prepare for more difficult updates over the next 24 hours,” said NSW Premier Chris Minns in an interview with ABC News.
Warnings remain in place across the state, with 50,000 residents advised to prepare for isolation due to worsening conditions expected through Friday. Entire communities have been cut off, more than 100 schools have shut down, and approximately 5,300 homes and businesses are currently without power.
Essential Energy, the company responsible for much of the state’s electricity network, warned that power outages could continue for several days due to major damage to infrastructure.
Many residents stranded by rising floodwaters have had to wait for hours to be rescued, but swift currents have made boat access too dangerous, and even helicopter deployments have been hampered by the weather.
Andrew Edmunds from the State Emergency Service reported that responders were still unable to reach up to 150 active incidents due to blocked access routes.
In one dramatic rescue, two people in their 70s had to be winched from the roof of their car after driving into floodwaters. They were assessed by paramedics afterward.
Meteorologists are warning that more life-threatening flash floods are expected in the coming hours, with rainfall totals in some areas predicted to reach 300mm (12 inches) by Friday.
Government officials stressed the situation remains critical, especially with river levels still rising. Flooding is a recurring issue in New South Wales, and local insurance broker Jeremy Thornton told ABC News that it’s becoming increasingly difficult—and sometimes impossible—for residents in high-risk areas to secure insurance.
He said some companies won’t even provide quotes for certain postcodes, while one homeowner was quoted a premium equal to half their annual income.
