News

Weather

The NSW SES has received a total of 1,707 Requests for Assistance (RFA’s) since the commencement of severe weather with flooding and strong winds on Monday.

Rainfall on the North Coast and the Mid-north Coast eased during Thursday morning, with the heaviest rain between Coffs Harbour and Taree, especially around Port Macquarie. During Thursday the rain intensified over the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands, with falls in excess of 200mm in less than 12 hours in some localities.

The rain has now eased, and the Severe Weather Warning has been cancelled. Gale force winds south of about Sydney are expected along the coastal fringe early this morning and may result in some increased operational response due to damage from fallen trees and branches.

Later on Friday a trough will again become a feature over northern New South Wales, with very heavy rain especially on the Mid-north Coast and Far North Coast. A Flood Watch has been updated and reissued for 11 river valleys including the Brunswick, Wilsons, Richmond, Clarence, Orana, Coffs Creek, Bellinger, Nambucca, Macleay, Hastings and Manning.

For the latest weather warnings, rainfall and flood heights, click here.

For the Flood Watch, click here.

SES Response

The NSW SES has now received 4,137 calls at the State Operations Centre since the commencement of this event.

The NSW SES Operations Centre is presently staffed with additional resources to manage increased call flow from the public.

The main operational focus today was due to localised flooding impacting the Illawarra around the Wollongong / Shellharbour, Shoalhaven and Wingecarribee Local Government Areas.

There have been 43 flood rescues, mostly from the Wollongong and Shellharbour areas, with the majority of these around Albion Park.

The majority of flood rescues have been for motorists caught in rapidly rising flood waters, with the Illawarra Highway expected to be closed for at least 24 hours, and closure of the Princes Highway south of Wollongong. .

An 11 year old child was missing in the Unanderra area, with NSW SES volunteers assisting Police in the search during Thursday evening. Other rescues included livestock, especially horses as well as people in cars stuck in floodwater. In one rescue near Nowra several people were rescued from a tree after their car had become engulfed by floodwaters.

A train was stopped between Albion Park and Dapto with an unknown number of passengers on board by flooding, it was later able to safely complete its journey.

A school bus was caught in floodwater on the Illawarra Highway at Albion Park with a report of 15 students on board. All are now safe.

In anticipation of further flooding in the north of the State, the NSW SES has three rotary wing aviation assets prepositioned at Ballina, Coffs Harbour and Taree.  All aircraft have rescue capability.

Since the start of the event 108 Volunteers and Staff have been deployed to the north of the State to bolster local volunteers and NSW SES has 140 teams active or on standby.

Additional sandbags and tarpaulins are being sent to the North and Mid-north Coasts to supplement local stocks ahead of the further severe weather.

The NSW SES State Operations Centre has an expanded roster for increased operational response with Planning, Public Information, Logistics and Intelligence functions all ready to provide support to the volunteers and ensure the community are warned and prepared.

Support is also being received from the Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue New South Wales, NSW Police and other emergency services and local government.

If you require emergency help call the NSW SES on 132 500 or 000 if it is a life-threatening emergency.