Before and after the NSW floods: view from the sky reveals scale of disaster

The Guardian

2 days ago

Deadly and devastating flood waters from the Hunter to the mid-north coast in New South Wales have subsided and a massive clean up blitz has begun.
Five people have been confirmed dead, more than 1,000 buildings deemed uninhabitable and flood damage was inflicted on an estimated 10,000 properties.
About 3,500 people remain isolated, despite waters receding in recent days.
New aerial images show the scale of devastation.
Recovery crews have removed 10,000 cubic metres of waste from affected areas and more than 1,500 tonnes of debris from roads, government officials said, with about 5,000 pot holes repaired.
'Recovery is going to take time,' the federal emergency services minister, Kristy McBain, told ABC radio on Wednesday.
'This isn't going to be something that is done quickly and we've reiterated that we will be there for the long haul.'
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Over 6,000 NSW government staff and volunteers have been deployed.
More than 9,200 damage assessments have been conducted, with about 2,000 to go, the NSW minister for emergency services, Jihad Dib, told state parliament.
Many of the more than 1,000 buildings deemed uninhabitable may only be so for the short term.
'In some of those cases, it's just flooding over the floorboards, or minor damage,' he said.
'It doesn't mean that they're uninhabitable completely.'
But about 30 homes need 'serious work' or are beyond repair.
Affected NSW farmers are also reeling; in scenes similar to floods in Queensland earlier this year, where estimated stock losses totalled more than 150,000.
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With Australian Associated Press