Flood death fears in NSW town
AUSTRALIA: Several floodaffected northern New South Wales towns have been declared natural disaster zones after hundreds of residents fled inundated homes and nearby rivers peaked.
Several towns have been affected by the deluge caused by the remnants of ex-tropical Cyclone Debbie - including Murwillumbah, Chinderah and Kyogle - with the Wilsons, Richmond and Tweed rivers peaking.
The federal and state governments yesterday announced that natural disaster assistance would be available for those in the Ballina, Byron, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed regions.
Water overflowed the town of Lismore’s levee bank yesterday for the first time, peaking at 11.55 metres, with the deluge continuing to hit the CBD until late afternoon.
Up to 20,000 people have been ordered to evacuate but many have remained in their homes. About 220 spent the night sleeping at an evacuation centre at the local Southern Cross University cam- pus. The State Emergency Service fears some people may have perished in the floods.
NSW SES Deputy Commissioner Mark Morrow said there were 150 flood rescues in the area, but the weather prevented the rescue helicopter being able to get to all locations.
‘‘We might get a worst-case scenario there, and find people have deceased overnight as a result of being caught in floodwater,’’ he said.
Morrow said flood levels in Lismore could go beyond what the town, with a population of 25,000, saw in 2001 and 2005.
‘‘Most of the businesses in the Lismore CBD will have up to three metres of water over the floor,’’ he said.
Lismore Mayor Isaac Smith said people had been caught off guard, and the town was in uncharted territory. ’’It’s an unprecedented flood,’’ he said. However, the town’s protective levee had never failed before.
Motorists heading north from Sydney are being told not to travel to Brisbane on the Pacific Motorway because of the flooding.
About 10,000 homes and business were without power in northern NSW, Essential Energy said. Wires were down and crews were patrolling about 30km of power lines in challenging conditions to find the faults to be repaired, a spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, in southern Queensland, residents of low-lying parts of Logan and the Gold Coast have been told to move to higher ground as a ‘‘wall of water’’ heads towards the region.
The Gold Coast council has told residents near the northern suburbs of Stapylton and Jacobs Well to evacuate, and warned those who remain behind that they risk being trapped by floodwaters for several days.
Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said people in the area should get out.
‘‘They are urgent alerts and we have asked the community to take them seriously.’’
Residents in low-lying areas around Beenleigh have also been told to get out as the Albert River continues to rise towards a possible 130-year record level.
Logan Mayor Luke Smith said a ‘‘wall of water’’ was heading for the area from the Scenic Rim region. ‘‘It’s just about waiting to see where all the water happens to go.’’
Bureau of Meteorology regional director Bruce Gunn said rainfall totals across the southeast had been extraordinary, with falls of more than 800 millimetres in the Gold Coast hinterland in 48 hours. The Beaudesert area has already been beset by record floodwaters. There are also concerns about possible flooding in Rockhampton next week as water makes its way down from rivers upstream.
State Disaster Coordinator Stephan Gollschewski said the focus in north Queensland had switched to restoring essential services such as communication and power.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Katarina Carroll said the SES had dealt with about 5600 calls for help since the cyclone disaster began earlier this week.
State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said 270 properties in north Queensland had been declared unliveable, and around 140,000 households were without power across southeast and north Queensland.
There were also concerns about water supplies in the north, she said. ‘‘The army is doing everything it can to get water into those parts of North Queensland.’’ - AAP
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