Rainfall has decreased in Sydney, but parts of the north-central coast have still had to be evacuated overnight due to heavy rains and sudden flooding.
Key points:
- There are 74 evacuation orders in effect affecting 43,000 people
- Some residents have been able to return home with caution, most people in south-west Sydney and some places in the north-west.
- There have been over 1,200 calls for help in the last 24 hours
Residents affected by the 57-site flooding, mainly in southwest Sydney, have been able to return home to clean up the wreckage.
In the last 24 hours, the State Emergency Service (SES) has received 1,173 calls for help and has carried out 63 flood rescues.
Evacuation orders were issued for parts of Bulahdelah and Tuncurry, and residents of parts of Forster were told to be on hold.
Meanwhile, parts of the Hunter region are still experiencing levels of flooding that had not been seen in 70 years, with heavy flooding in Singleton, Wollombi, Maitland and Bulga.
The SES warned last night that conditions in the Hunter Valley “could be a bit scary” if the river reaches the expected record level.
The river is expected to reach its peak this morning with flooding in the lowlands.
Flooding is declining on Hawkesbury River, north of Sydney, but water levels are still high, with 74 evacuation orders currently across the state.
A Chittaway Bay family was rescued Wednesday as water rose around them. (ABC News: Timothy Swanston)
Residents of the central coast near Lake Tuggerah experienced flooding that many said they had not seen before, plastering streets and flooding homes.
Surf Life Saving NSW conducted multiple rescues, with flood waters cutting off properties and covering a long stretch of road.
Nicky House, a resident of Chittaway Point, said she and other people felt a false sense of security in recent days.
“On Monday we all had a bit of a feeling of … the sun has come out, it’s not raining,” he said.
“Then we flooded. I don’t think it’s ever been so high. There’s floating wood, wood, plastics, cans all in our yard.”
Nicky House, a resident of Chittaway Bay, said she and other people felt a false sense of security in recent days. (ABC News: Timothy Swanston)
New South Wales emergency services say they have deployed drones in the Hawkesbury-Nepean area to help assess flood damage.
The Fire and Rescue Aviation Unit works with SES commanders to conduct reconnaissance missions and provide live information on road conditions and river levels.
He says the technology is helping the SES make decisions about knocking on doors and evacuations.
It comes when the Australian Insurance Council hopes to declare the NSW flood an insurance catastrophe, with thousands of claims filed.
Insurers are already struggling to bear the cost of this year’s successive floods, and some experts say the future of insurance in Australia is in doubt without urgent reform.
Antonia Settle, an economist at the University of Melbourne, says the private market was failing.
“We can see that the market is not up to par,” he said.
“We can already see that insurance premiums have become so expensive that in some places they have actually become uninsurable.”
Posted 1 hour 1 hour ago Wed, July 6, 2022 at 8:25 PM, updated 8 m ago, 8 minutes ago Wed, July 6, 2022 at 9:32 PM