2 deaths reported in Australia floods

CANBERRA, Australia — Two men trapped in vehicles hundreds of miles apart have become the first fatalities of record flooding on Australia’s east coast.

A car got trapped in floodwaters northwest of Sydney at dawn Wednesday, and emergency services later recovered it with a body inside, officials said. The body, believed to be that of a 25-yearold Pakistani citizen, has yet to be formally identified.

An emergency crew later recovered the body of David Hornman, 38, from an upturned pickup in a flooded creek 420 miles to the north, near Gold Coast city in Queensland state, police said.

While rain has eased across New South Wales and southern Queensland, flooding has persisted. Most rivers had peaked by today, but 20,000 people were still evacuated from their homes, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

Emergency services have made hundreds of rescues since the flooding began last week. Parts of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, have set one-in50-year and one-in-100-year rainfall marks in the past week.

Insurance companies expect the damage in New South Wales to exceed $760 million.

Before the Queensland death was reported, Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed the Parliament’s condolences to the family of the man who died in the rural suburb of Sydney.

A flotilla of boats was delivering crucial supplies to isolated communities on the flooded Hawkesbury River northwest of Sydney and ferrying stranded residents to safety.

Cabinet Minister Peter Dutton said more than 700 defense personnel will soon be deployed as the floods recede, helping people return to their homes and businesses as quickly as possible.