Supermarket supply chains face disruptions as NSW flood recovery begins
Major supermarkets in flood-affected parts of New South Wales are continuing to face disruptions, with some stores still closed and supply chains under pressure due to damaged roads and limited access.
In Kempsey, both Coles and Woolworths stores remain closed this weekend.
Coles has also confirmed its Wingham store remains shut, while Woolworths says its Kempsey site will stay closed "for the remainder of the weekend".
In Kempsey's town centre, café owner Mouy Diep reopened her doors on Saturday as soon as the power was restored.
The Macleay River overtopped the levee on Thursday and the town's CBD was under evacuation orders.
Ms Diep said she prepared with sandbags, and although some water entered the café, the clean-up wasn't too severe.
A Coles spokesperson said most of the company's NSW stores remain open and stocked, but deliveries are being prioritised to flood-impacted areas.
"Our Wingham and Kempsey stores have had to unfortunately close at this stage and we will reopen these as soon as it is safe to do so," the spokesperson said.
"Our teams are working hard to ensure we have extra food deliveries on their way to our stores."
Woolworths said it was working to restock affected locations but warned there may be gaps on shelves for now.
Its Macksville store reopened on Saturday afternoon, although not all departments are fully stocked and deliveries will resume Sunday morning.
Flooding has also disrupted key freight routes.
The Pacific Highway (M1) near Taree, the last major closed section, was set to reopen from 6pm Saturday with a single lane operating in each direction.
Lane and speed restrictions will be in place on the highway between Purfleet and Coopernook as water recedes and crews continue to remove debris from the road.
"[We have] a plan to restore full access over the next couple of days. We ask motorists to take extra care while driving through this part of highway, which is an active worksite," a Transport for NSW spokesperson said.
Transport for NSW said it was prioritising assessments of the damage to roads and rail, and should continue to carry out emergency repair work when it was safe for crews to do so.
It has stood up its Freight Supply Chain Group to provide operators and industry stakeholders, including major supermarkets, daily updates about impacted road and rail networks.
NSW Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison said debris removal has been extensive, and crews have been working around the clock.
"There is some good news on the horizon for freight and transport routes," she said.
"[But] we need people to really comply with restrictions for the safety of workers."
Ms Aitchison said the emergency response was beginning to transition to recovery.
"We are still waiting on flood waters to fall in many areas before we can make assessments," she said.
Kempsey farmer Ben Thorley had a 10-hour detour through Glen Innes and Grafton to reach his property at Austral to check on his herd.
"[I found] my cows at Kempsey on the flats at Austral on my property, Eden," he said.
"We are the lucky ones, all cows are accounted for."
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