Australia declares national flood emergency as death toll hits 21

A NATIONAL emergency has been declared in Australia after the death toll from widespread flooding across the east coast rose to 21.

Intense rainfall has left thousands homeless and evacuation orders affecting about 40,000 people are in force in New South Wales.

The latest fatality was recorded when the body of a delivery driver, declared missing after his truck was found submerged in floodwaters in Sydney, was found yesterday morning.

The emergency declaration, a process which was set up after the 2019 bush fires, will help cut red tape and speed up aid amid criticism about a slow response to the floods from the government.

Frustrated residents in the Northern Rivers area, left with no access to power and internet for several days, have blamed authorities for the slow speed and scale of relief efforts.

Prime minister Scott Morrison, who is trailing in polls ahead of upcoming elections, kept the media away from his meetings with flood victims, which he said was to protect their privacy.

At a press conference in Lismore he defended the decision. “In these disasters not everyone wants a camera shoved in their face. The primary purpose is to make sure I understand fully what we need to do,” he said.

Critics believe Mr Morrison had been warned he would receive a frosty reception and did not want to risk being publicly snubbed – as he was by villagers who lost their homes in the bush fires.

He was similarly embarrassed for going on holiday to Hawaii as the wildfires raged.

Protesters waving placards also raised the issue of climate change, which many believe played a role in the floods. They yelled slogans such as: “We need help”, “the water is rising, no more compromising” and “fossil fuel floods”.

Mr Morrison defended the government’s climate record by stressing its commitment to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“We are dealing with a different climate to the one before. I think that’s just an obvious fact,” he said. “And Australia is getting hard to live in because of these disasters.”

Livestock has also suffered with many farm animals left to die in the floods. Bruno Ross, a vet, accused agricultural authorities in Lismore of a “pathetic response”, accusing them of “blatant animal cruelty”.

He said animals had been left stranded and starving, many of them suffering with cuts and infections.