‘Far from over’: 50k residents cut off as deluge continues on Mid North Coast

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

‘Far from over’: 50k residents cut off as deluge continues on Mid North Coast

Nearly 50,000 people have been cut off in the deadly flooding that has claimed three lives in the NSW Mid North Coast and Hunter regions.

Severe weather is expected to continue to smash parts of eastern NSW, as the wet conditions move south towards Gosford, Newcastle and Bowra throughout Friday.

The Blue Mountains and the Illawarra ranges have received 150mm of rainfall in the span of 24 hours.

The Mid North Coast has copped 100mm of rain in the past 24 hours, with another 50mm to 100mm smashing Sydney and its surrounds.

The city is facing another deluge of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on Friday morning.

A severe weather warning has been issued slightly further south for the Illawarra, South Coast and parts of the Southern Tablelands and Snowy Mountains districts.

Overnight, the NSW SES responded to more than 1,500 incidents across the state and rescued 177 people from the floodwaters, totalling to 678 rescues since the wild weather began.

NSW SES State Duty Commander Assistant Commissioner Colin Malone said while the rain was expected to begin easing later on Friday, the risk from flooding was far from over.

“For the last few days, our efforts have focused on undertaking lifesaving rescues, where more than 600 have been carried out since this flooding began,” he said.

More than 50,000 residents are at risk of being isolated and more than 9,000 homes are under threat as major flooding continues to cause carnage along the coast.

Camera IconFloodwaters are seen in and around Taree on the mid-north coast of NSW as torrential rain inundates the region, cutting off communities with NSW SES crews winching people to safety from rooftops and surging rivers. NewsWire / Scott Calvin Credit: News Corp Australia

Major flooding warnings are in place for the Nambucca, Macleay, Hastings, Manning and Paterson Rivers and Wollombi Brook.

Rain began to ease in Macksville on Thursday evening, giving residents a sense of relief for Nambucca catchments along the Mid North Coast, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Senior meteorologist Angus Hines told the ABC there would be “much less rainfall” in the flood-affected areas from Friday.

“In fact, no rainfall across most areas which are still experiencing significant major flooding,” he said.

However, the risk of life-threatening flooding remains.

Mr Malone said that despite rain beginning to taper off in the Mid North Coast, residents were not out of the woods yet.

“We may see renewed rises as water from earlier heavy falls makes its way downstream,” he said.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Conditions will finally start to ease on Friday morning across the northern parts of the Mid North Coast as the band of rain finally shifts south, though the Bureau said there was a long way to go.

“A big change finally after four days, where the weather pattern had not budged, and that’s why we saw so much rain in the same areas,” Mr Hines told the ABC.

“Yesterday, that band of rain slid southward and really stretched across a large part of NSW.”

The deluge is finally expected to begin easing on Saturday.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#50k #residents #cut #deluge #continues #Mid #North #Coast

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up