Women trying to get back to Sydney drove through six metre raging floodwaters outside Cessnock
The two women, aged 27 and 26, and their dog, were immediately swept into Black Creek at North Rothbury in their small car, police said.
The creek banks were swollen from torrential rain throughout Saturday and the causeway dips four metres down from the road, meaning their car was plunged into six metre surging floodwaters.
The two women clambered out of the driver's side door, but were thrown into the raging creek.
The driver managed to grab her dog and make it to the banks of the creek, but her 26-year-old passenger, an engineer from Western Sydney, did not surface and police and emergency services have launched a large scale search operation to locate her.
"It is a tragic circumstances and a dire situation," Hunter Valley Police District Commander Superintendent Steve Laksa said on Sunday.
A 40-year-old man, who was driving another car in the same direction as the women, also attempted to cross Black Creek, but his car was swept into the raging waters.
He was found by emergency services clinging to a tree overhanging the creek and was rescued by State Emergency Service volunteers.
It was unknown how long he had spent hanging onto the tree before he was saved.
Neither car had been located as of Sunday afternoon.
Police said emergency services first discovered and rescued the stricken man, then found the driver of the other car on the bank, who raised the alarm that her friend had not surfaced.
"They are obviously all distraught, it's an awful situation to be confronted by," Superintendent Laksa said."But the emergency services, police and SES, everyone is doing the best they can to locate the missing woman."
The causeway is well known to locals as being a dangerous crossing in heavy rain because it dips so low through the creek, but Superintendent Laksa said the women were tourists visiting the area for the weekend and may not have been aware of the dangers of crossing the causeway.
"Even though it might look quite calm on the top, you've got six metres of water rushing through that area," he said. "So it's quite significant. And from looking from the roadway you might not be aware of that. So anyone driving through water needs to be cautious of the conditions of the water underneath and also the level the water might be on the banks as well."
He said while the situation was dire, it could have been much worse with rescuers confronted by horrendous conditions and poor visibility.
Superintendent Laksa said the women had been concerned about the heavy rain and potential rising floodwaters and had travelled back to their accommodation on Old North Road to grab their belongings with the plan of heading back to Sydney immediately.
"They had returned back through the same causeway, which at this time the causeway had risen significantly, which resulted in their vehicle being swept away," Superintendent Laksa said. "
"Both vehicles were swept away and have not been accounted for."
On Sunday, a large contingent of crews from NSW Police, Water Police, SES, RFS, Police Rescue and Cessnock District Rescue Squad were on scene.
Crews were taking boats down the creek, the RFS had a drone searching from the area, while others searched on foot along the banks.
Police said they had delayed deploying police divers because of the debris in the creek and the strong current, but divers were expected to join in the search on Monday.
"We do have sonar capabilities that we will utilise before the divers enter the water to try to identify any person," Superintendent Laksa said.
The woman had been in Australia for three years on a working VISA and was employed as an engineer, police said.
Superintendent Laksa said family in Australia and China had been notified of the search and police were liaising with Chinese Consulate officials.
"In terms of a warning for the community, we are all aware we've had a significant amount of rainfall over the last 24 hours," Superintendent Laksa said. "We've had a number of areas in the Hunter Valley that have been prone to evacuation orders and warnings in relation to flood waters. "I would just ask the community to take heed of those warnings and do not enter any waterway. If you need assistance, make sure you contact the SES or NSW Police."
DESPERATE to get back to Sydney after a weekend in Hunter Valley wine country, two Chinese nationals attempted to drive through a causeway as raging six metre floodwaters surged through a creek outside Cessnock on Saturday night.
The two women, aged 27 and 26, and their dog, were immediately swept into Black Creek at North Rothbury in their small car, police said.
The creek banks were swollen from torrential rain throughout Saturday and the causeway dips four metres down from the road, meaning their car was plunged into six metre surging floodwaters.
The two women clambered out of the driver's side door, but were thrown into the raging creek.
The driver managed to grab her dog and make it to the banks of the creek, but her 26-year-old passenger, an engineer from Western Sydney, did not surface and police and emergency services have launched a large scale search operation to locate her.
"It is a tragic circumstances and a dire situation," Hunter Valley Police District Commander Superintendent Steve Laksa said on Sunday.
A 40-year-old man, who was driving another car in the same direction as the women, also attempted to cross Black Creek, but his car was swept into the raging waters.
He was found by emergency services clinging to a tree overhanging the creek and was rescued by State Emergency Service volunteers.
It was unknown how long he had spent hanging onto the tree before he was saved.
Neither car had been located as of Sunday afternoon.
Police said emergency services first discovered and rescued the stricken man, then found the driver of the other car on the bank, who raised the alarm that her friend had not surfaced.
"They are obviously all distraught, it's an awful situation to be confronted by," Superintendent Laksa said."But the emergency services, police and SES, everyone is doing the best they can to locate the missing woman."
The causeway is well known to locals as being a dangerous crossing in heavy rain because it dips so low through the creek, but Superintendent Laksa said the women were tourists visiting the area for the weekend and may not have been aware of the dangers of crossing the causeway.
"Even though it might look quite calm on the top, you've got six metres of water rushing through that area," he said. "So it's quite significant. And from looking from the roadway you might not be aware of that. So anyone driving through water needs to be cautious of the conditions of the water underneath and also the level the water might be on the banks as well."
He said while the situation was dire, it could have been much worse with rescuers confronted by horrendous conditions and poor visibility.
Superintendent Laksa said the women had been concerned about the heavy rain and potential rising floodwaters and had travelled back to their accommodation on Old North Road to grab their belongings with the plan of heading back to Sydney immediately.
"They had returned back through the same causeway, which at this time the causeway had risen significantly, which resulted in their vehicle being swept away," Superintendent Laksa said. "
"Both vehicles were swept away and have not been accounted for."
On Sunday, a large contingent of crews from NSW Police, Water Police, SES, RFS, Police Rescue and Cessnock District Rescue Squad were on scene.
Crews were taking boats down the creek, the RFS had a drone searching from the area, while others searched on foot along the banks.
Police said they had delayed deploying police divers because of the debris in the creek and the strong current, but divers were expected to join in the search on Monday.
"We do have sonar capabilities that we will utilise before the divers enter the water to try to identify any person," Superintendent Laksa said.
The woman had been in Australia for three years on a working VISA and was employed as an engineer, police said.
Superintendent Laksa said family in Australia and China had been notified of the search and police were liaising with Chinese Consulate officials.
"In terms of a warning for the community, we are all aware we've had a significant amount of rainfall over the last 24 hours," Superintendent Laksa said. "We've had a number of areas in the Hunter Valley that have been prone to evacuation orders and warnings in relation to flood waters. "I would just ask the community to take heed of those warnings and do not enter any waterway. If you need assistance, make sure you contact the SES or NSW Police."
DESPERATE to get back to Sydney after a weekend in Hunter Valley wine country, two Chinese nationals attempted to drive through a causeway as raging six metre floodwaters surged through a creek outside Cessnock on Saturday night.
The two women, aged 27 and 26, and their dog, were immediately swept into Black Creek at North Rothbury in their small car, police said.
The creek banks were swollen from torrential rain throughout Saturday and the causeway dips four metres down from the road, meaning their car was plunged into six metre surging floodwaters.
The two women clambered out of the driver's side door, but were thrown into the raging creek.
The driver managed to grab her dog and make it to the banks of the creek, but her 26-year-old passenger, an engineer from Western Sydney, did not surface and police and emergency services have launched a large scale search operation to locate her.
"It is a tragic circumstances and a dire situation," Hunter Valley Police District Commander Superintendent Steve Laksa said on Sunday.
A 40-year-old man, who was driving another car in the same direction as the women, also attempted to cross Black Creek, but his car was swept into the raging waters.
He was found by emergency services clinging to a tree overhanging the creek and was rescued by State Emergency Service volunteers.
It was unknown how long he had spent hanging onto the tree before he was saved.
Neither car had been located as of Sunday afternoon.
Police said emergency services first discovered and rescued the stricken man, then found the driver of the other car on the bank, who raised the alarm that her friend had not surfaced.
"They are obviously all distraught, it's an awful situation to be confronted by," Superintendent Laksa said."But the emergency services, police and SES, everyone is doing the best they can to locate the missing woman."
The causeway is well known to locals as being a dangerous crossing in heavy rain because it dips so low through the creek, but Superintendent Laksa said the women were tourists visiting the area for the weekend and may not have been aware of the dangers of crossing the causeway.
"Even though it might look quite calm on the top, you've got six metres of water rushing through that area," he said. "So it's quite significant. And from looking from the roadway you might not be aware of that. So anyone driving through water needs to be cautious of the conditions of the water underneath and also the level the water might be on the banks as well."
He said while the situation was dire, it could have been much worse with rescuers confronted by horrendous conditions and poor visibility.
Superintendent Laksa said the women had been concerned about the heavy rain and potential rising floodwaters and had travelled back to their accommodation on Old North Road to grab their belongings with the plan of heading back to Sydney immediately.
"They had returned back through the same causeway, which at this time the causeway had risen significantly, which resulted in their vehicle being swept away," Superintendent Laksa said. "
"Both vehicles were swept away and have not been accounted for."
On Sunday, a large contingent of crews from NSW Police, Water Police, SES, RFS, Police Rescue and Cessnock District Rescue Squad were on scene.
Crews were taking boats down the creek, the RFS had a drone searching from the area, while others searched on foot along the banks.
Police said they had delayed deploying police divers because of the debris in the creek and the strong current, but divers were expected to join in the search on Monday.
"We do have sonar capabilities that we will utilise before the divers enter the water to try to identify any person," Superintendent Laksa said.
The woman had been in Australia for three years on a working VISA and was employed as an engineer, police said.
Superintendent Laksa said family in Australia and China had been notified of the search and police were liaising with Chinese Consulate officials.
"In terms of a warning for the community, we are all aware we've had a significant amount of rainfall over the last 24 hours," Superintendent Laksa said. "We've had a number of areas in the Hunter Valley that have been prone to evacuation orders and warnings in relation to flood waters. "I would just ask the community to take heed of those warnings and do not enter any waterway. If you need assistance, make sure you contact the SES or NSW Police."
DESPERATE to get back to Sydney after a weekend in Hunter Valley wine country, two Chinese nationals attempted to drive through a causeway as raging six metre floodwaters surged through a creek outside Cessnock on Saturday night.
The two women, aged 27 and 26, and their dog, were immediately swept into Black Creek at North Rothbury in their small car, police said.
The creek banks were swollen from torrential rain throughout Saturday and the causeway dips four metres down from the road, meaning their car was plunged into six metre surging floodwaters.
The two women clambered out of the driver's side door, but were thrown into the raging creek.
The driver managed to grab her dog and make it to the banks of the creek, but her 26-year-old passenger, an engineer from Western Sydney, did not surface and police and emergency services have launched a large scale search operation to locate her.
"It is a tragic circumstances and a dire situation," Hunter Valley Police District Commander Superintendent Steve Laksa said on Sunday.
A 40-year-old man, who was driving another car in the same direction as the women, also attempted to cross Black Creek, but his car was swept into the raging waters.
He was found by emergency services clinging to a tree overhanging the creek and was rescued by State Emergency Service volunteers.
It was unknown how long he had spent hanging onto the tree before he was saved.
Neither car had been located as of Sunday afternoon.
Police said emergency services first discovered and rescued the stricken man, then found the driver of the other car on the bank, who raised the alarm that her friend had not surfaced.
"They are obviously all distraught, it's an awful situation to be confronted by," Superintendent Laksa said."But the emergency services, police and SES, everyone is doing the best they can to locate the missing woman."
The causeway is well known to locals as being a dangerous crossing in heavy rain because it dips so low through the creek, but Superintendent Laksa said the women were tourists visiting the area for the weekend and may not have been aware of the dangers of crossing the causeway.
"Even though it might look quite calm on the top, you've got six metres of water rushing through that area," he said. "So it's quite significant. And from looking from the roadway you might not be aware of that. So anyone driving through water needs to be cautious of the conditions of the water underneath and also the level the water might be on the banks as well."
He said while the situation was dire, it could have been much worse with rescuers confronted by horrendous conditions and poor visibility.
Superintendent Laksa said the women had been concerned about the heavy rain and potential rising floodwaters and had travelled back to their accommodation on Old North Road to grab their belongings with the plan of heading back to Sydney immediately.
"They had returned back through the same causeway, which at this time the causeway had risen significantly, which resulted in their vehicle being swept away," Superintendent Laksa said. "
"Both vehicles were swept away and have not been accounted for."
On Sunday, a large contingent of crews from NSW Police, Water Police, SES, RFS, Police Rescue and Cessnock District Rescue Squad were on scene.
Crews were taking boats down the creek, the RFS had a drone searching from the area, while others searched on foot along the banks.
Police said they had delayed deploying police divers because of the debris in the creek and the strong current, but divers were expected to join in the search on Monday.
"We do have sonar capabilities that we will utilise before the divers enter the water to try to identify any person," Superintendent Laksa said.
The woman had been in Australia for three years on a working VISA and was employed as an engineer, police said.
Superintendent Laksa said family in Australia and China had been notified of the search and police were liaising with Chinese Consulate officials.
"In terms of a warning for the community, we are all aware we've had a significant amount of rainfall over the last 24 hours," Superintendent Laksa said. "We've had a number of areas in the Hunter Valley that have been prone to evacuation orders and warnings in relation to flood waters. "I would just ask the community to take heed of those warnings and do not enter any waterway. If you need assistance, make sure you contact the SES or NSW Police."
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Four of those dogs had been trained in water searching, the first of their kind in Australia. They are part of a wider canine team that assist the police in different circumstances. Squad captain Sue Pritchard said the specialist capability had been deployed about 14 times since it became active one year ago. The dogs are highly trained to find people in the water and on the shoreline, and can help narrow down search areas. "They are truly amazing, and they have been very successful," she said, speaking generally about the squad. They work in a range of conditions and have to be able to navigate debris and balance themselves on a boat. Their training is intense and they have to be so finely tuned to what they are looking for due to the varying water conditions, temperatures, winds and currents. They can smell, detect bubbles, and may lick the water. Their partnerships with their handlers, who have to be able to read what the dogs are trying to say, is key. "We need pretty resilient dogs," she said. The team is made up of cocker and springer spaniels, coolies and a border collie. The volunteer handlers all come from different walks of life and can be called to go anywhere to help out. Captain Pritchard said the team was just happy to be able to help families have their loved ones found as quickly as possible. The search conditions were difficult on Saturday, with rescuers battling poor weather conditions and visibility. Police confirmed family in Australia and China had been notified of the search and police were liaising with Chinese Consulate officials. The 26-year-old woman was in Australia working as an engineer and was visiting the Hunter. A 40-year-old man also attempted to cross Black Creek when his car was swept into the raging waters and he was rescued by SES crews who found him clinging to a tree. The incidents came as wild weather wreaked havoc along the east coast. 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The sun came out in Newcastle on Monday and conditions are expected to remain dry on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). POLICE divers and specialty water search dogs have been deployed to the Hunter Valley as part of the multi-agency operation to find a woman swept away in raging floodwaters on the weekend. Two Chinese nationals trying to get back to Sydney after a weekend in wine country attempted to drive through a causeway on Old North Road at North Rothbury as floodwaters surged through on Saturday night. The women, aged 27 and 26, a dog and the small car they were travelling in were washed into Black Creek, near Cessnock. The driver grabbed the dog and made it to shore but her 26-year-old passenger did not surface. Emergency services swarmed the area and a multi-agency search operation was launched, involving the NSW State Emergency Service (SES), the Rural Fire Service (RFS), the Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA) and police, including water and rescue officers. The search from the land and water, and from the sky with a drone, continued through the weekend. Police divers were tasked to help with the search when it resumed on Monday. Five canines from the VRA NSW Search Dogs squad and their handlers were also tasked to assist. Four of those dogs had been trained in water searching, the first of their kind in Australia. They are part of a wider canine team that assist the police in different circumstances. Squad captain Sue Pritchard said the specialist capability had been deployed about 14 times since it became active one year ago. The dogs are highly trained to find people in the water and on the shoreline, and can help narrow down search areas. "They are truly amazing, and they have been very successful," she said, speaking generally about the squad. They work in a range of conditions and have to be able to navigate debris and balance themselves on a boat. Their training is intense and they have to be so finely tuned to what they are looking for due to the varying water conditions, temperatures, winds and currents. They can smell, detect bubbles, and may lick the water. Their partnerships with their handlers, who have to be able to read what the dogs are trying to say, is key. "We need pretty resilient dogs," she said. The team is made up of cocker and springer spaniels, coolies and a border collie. The volunteer handlers all come from different walks of life and can be called to go anywhere to help out. Captain Pritchard said the team was just happy to be able to help families have their loved ones found as quickly as possible. The search conditions were difficult on Saturday, with rescuers battling poor weather conditions and visibility. Police confirmed family in Australia and China had been notified of the search and police were liaising with Chinese Consulate officials. The 26-year-old woman was in Australia working as an engineer and was visiting the Hunter. A 40-year-old man also attempted to cross Black Creek when his car was swept into the raging waters and he was rescued by SES crews who found him clinging to a tree. The incidents came as wild weather wreaked havoc along the east coast. Shortland Esplanade remained closed to traffic near Nobbys beach on Monday as City of Newcastle crews worked to clear a weather-related landslip. No properties were affected. The New England Highway was closed at Muswellbrook due to flooding but reopened just after 10am on Monday, August 4. Dozens of local roads across the Hunter council areas remained closed due to floodwater inundation. A small section of Raymond Terrace, along the Hunter River, was under evacuation orders on Sunday night. Part of Hinton was isolated on Monday, while Hinton Public School and Hunter Trade College were non-operational. On Monday, the SES warned Clarence Town, Seaham, Muswellbrook, Denman, Maitland and Singleton to monitor conditions and stay informed on flooding in their areas. Holiday-makers and locals on the Mid North Coast were hit with what one resident described as 'mini cyclone' conditions on the weekend, causing damage to structures. The sun came out in Newcastle on Monday and conditions are expected to remain dry on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
