The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has responded to more than 800 incidents over two days, as heavy rainfall caused flash flooding and riverine rises across the northern coast.
Minor to moderate riverine rises were recorded in the Mid North Coast and Hunter regions, as up to 150mm of rain fell in 24 hours in some areas.
Flash flooding also impacted some local roads and isolated communities intermittently throughout Sunday.
While most of incidents responded to by the NSW SES were for leaking or damaged rooves, trees down and sandbagging requests, there were 16 flood rescues on Sunday.
The majority of flood rescues were for people trapped in vehicles after driving into floodwater. However, there were also people isolated at properties in Crawfords River and Glenn William that required retrieval.
At Crawford’s River, near Bulahdelah, multiple properties on Emu Creek Road were impacted by rising floodwaters and 11 people were rescued from their homes after becoming isolated.
NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey said while heavy rain and damaging winds were recorded over the weekend, conditions were easing throughout Monday morning.
“While we are expecting river rises to slowly subside, a number of warnings remain current for the Mid North Coast and Hunter regions due to the impacts of flooding,” Assistant Commissioner Storey said.
“Our teams were busy across the weekend responding to calls for assistance from the community, and we’re glad the majority headed our advice to not drive through floodwaters.
“However, some people are still taking the risk, and I want to remind people it is not safe to drive through floodwaters and they should stop and find an alternative route should they come across a flooded road.”
Flood warnings remain current across the state, particularly along the Northern Coast and Western NSW.
In the Hunter, the Williams River at Dungog has peaked, and is expected to drop below the minor flood level this morning. Downstream at Mill Dam Falls, the river is peaking at the moderate flood level. Some roads, causeways and and bridges are flooded, but NSW SES crews are monitoring the situation closely.
Assistant Commissioner Storey encouraged the community to stay across the latest warnings and information by downloading the Hazards Near Me app or visiting the NSW SES website.
OPERATIONAL STATISTICS:
Midnight Saturday, 26 April to 6am Monday, 28 April.
Statewide incidents: 805
Flood rescues: 16
By zone –
Northern Zone: 612
North Eastern Zone: 28
Metro Zone: 77
South Eastern Zone: 38
North Western Zone: 11
Western Zone: 13
Southern Zone: 7
Media enquiries:
NSW SES Media on 1800 067 234