Hundreds of properties in Australia’s southeast, scrubbed and cleaned two weeks ago after major flooding, were inundated again yesterday as officials issued fresh evacuation orders while Singaporean rescue specialists arrived to aid relief efforts.
Rural towns in the southwest of New South Wales state are the worst hit in the latest deluge after heavy rains over three days through Monday unmoored houses, and submerged roads and bridges, turning entire towns into islands.
In Forbes, a rural town of about 8,000 residents in the state’s wheat belt, the Lachlan River flooded the main streets and people were being rescued in boats, television footage showed.
Photo: AP
“This flood caught people by surprise... The [speed] of water coming through is unbelievable,” said Jeff Nicholson, who manages the Forbes bowling club and has lived in the town for 64 years. “This one here now is a one-in-100-years flood.”
Officials predicted the Lachlan River would peak soon at a 70-year high of just below 11m for the second time in as many weeks.
“We only just finished the damage assessment and the cleanup here. Two weeks later, we’re back into major floods,” New South Wales State Emergency Service Chief Superintendant Ashley Sullivan told reporters.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Further west, residents in parts of Condobolin, with a population of about 3,000, had been ordered to evacuate.
To help with relief efforts, 18 flood rescue specialists from Singapore reached Sydney yesterday, authorities said, adding that they would join a team from New Zealand and hundreds of Australian defense personnel deployed to the worst-hit regions.
Help has also been sought from the US for the relief operation, which authorities have flagged would be the biggest flood rescue exercise in New South Wales’ history.
The damage from the latest flood could cost “billions of dollars,” Australian Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said.
“The bill is really racking up and that’s before we look at the immense cost of road and infrastructure repairs which lies ahead,” Watt said. “The worst thing is that this isn’t over yet.”
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