Thousands displaced by flooding in northern NSW as extreme weather set to move south
Flooding occurs in the town of Lismore, northeastern New South Wales, Monday, 28 February, 2022. Source: AAP / JASON O’BRIEN/AAPIMAGE
Premier Dominic Perrottet described the flooding and its impacts as “unprecedented” and “distressing”.
There were 17 evacuation orders in place across the state’s north on Monday while 21 areas were under evacuation warnings, covering around 62,000 people, the premier said.
Rescuers in a flotilla of dinghies and inflatables plucked stranded Lismore residents from the rooftops and balconies of submerged homes on Monday.
It said a low will redevelop offshore then swing onshore on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing widespread heavy rain and coastal erosion from Newcastle and stretching down to the Victoria border.
The current flood crisis has engulfed the northeastern part of state with multiple major flood warnings including the Tweed, Richmond, Wilsons, Brunswick, Bellinger and Clarence rivers.
Mr Perrottet said “it’s heartbreaking to see communities hit by such severe flooding for the second time in 12 months”.
‘There was nowhere to go’
Residents have
as the floodwaters encroached on their homes.
Lismore resident Ella Buckland lost all of her belongings apart from some passports, baby books and a bag of clothes for her daughter.
“It was very quick. It was very sudden,” she told SBS News on Monday.
“The street was inundated with water. There was sort of nowhere to go.”
With only one road out of her street, Ella and her family were forced to drive through floodwaters to escape. As of Monday, she was staying with friends before she returns to her home to clean up.
Ian Graham grew up in Lismore. When he heard people were stranded and needed help, he fired up his jet ski and travelled straight there from Ballina.
The first people he saved were a couple in their 70s. With water lapping at the ceiling of their home, the couple was forced to flee onto the gutter where they hung on for dear life.
“There was a current there. They were holding on and they wouldn’t have been able to hold on for much longer,” Ian told SBS News.
“Every street you went down, there were people crying for help. I asked people how long they’d been there and some said six, seven hours.”
Minister for Emergency Services Steph Cooke warns the flood crisis is far from over.
“Many thousands of people are facing the threat of flooding and saving lives is our key priority of the next few days.”
