Gale-force winds to hit flood-affected parts of NSW as cold front approaches

Australia Broadcast Center

26-05-2025

Gale-force winds are expected to hit parts of New South Wales that are still reeling from the effects of record flooding.
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) deputy coordinator-general, Joe Buffone, told reporters at the National Situation Room in Canberra today that attention had now turned to a cold front moving through South Australia and Victoria.
He said the front would also impact southern and eastern NSW.
"The main focus there is about wind, and the concern is about many trees going down," Mr Buffone said.
A gale warning is in place for the Eden Coast today, and that will extend to the Batemans, Illawarra, Sydney, Hunter and Macquarie coasts tomorrow.
Winds of up to 75 kilometres per hour are expected in some offshore areas.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said people needed to use common sense if they were in a flood-affected environment.
"There are still risks out there," he said.
"The ground is really, really wet. You combine that with heavy winds, you combine that with trees and other structures … more vulnerable than usual [and] they just come over.
The prime minister said Australia was getting "far too much experience in dealing with extreme weather events".
"The science told us that there would be more frequent events and they would be more intense, and that is what we are seeing," he said.
Mr Albanese said the record-breaking floods on the Mid North Coast had left a human, environmental and economic impact on the region.
But he said it was too early to put an exact figure on the cost.
"We know it is substantial," Mr Albanese said.
"We know also that what we don't do is go through with a calculator.
"What we do is say, 'If it is needed, we will support you,' simple as that."
Mr Albanese said there would be 70 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel on the Mid North Coast from tomorrow.
"Helping with recovery, helping with clean-up as well," he said.
"An event such as this has a physical impact clearly on people, but it also has a mental health aspect.
"From my experience, the presence of ADF personnel on the ground brings enormous confidence to communities that are really doing it tough."
Recovery centres offering advice and support to those affected by the floods will open across the Mid North Coast and Hunter regions from tomorrow.
The Taree Recovery Centre will open at 10am on Tuesday at the Manning Uniting Church.
On Wednesday, similar centres will open in Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Macksville and Maitland.
NSW Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin told 702 ABC Radio Sydney that authorities would be on hand to help flood victims replace IDs and personal documents such as birth and marriage certificates, Medicare cards and citizenship papers.
"Even though we are still in a response phase with the SES in command … we're working side-by-side," she said.
"The Reconstruction Authority is setting recovery up as we go … and there'll be a formal handover to recovery later in the week."
About 12,000 people remain isolated across the Mid North Coast, where more than 600 volunteers have formed a community flood response group to help wash out homes and support residents.
Local volunteer coordinator Holly Rankin said the group would follow the lead of emergency services.
"It's not the community's responsibility to lead these efforts," she said.
"We're working in behind the official efforts, but we're doing everything we can to mobilise our community in an organised way that is safe.
An estimated 1,200 businesses and homes remain without power across the Mid North Coast, but supplies were starting to arrive in the region after all lanes of the Pacific Motorway near Taree were reopened yesterday.
SES Kempsey unit commander Greg Steele said road closures and power failures have made things difficult for volunteers.
"Normally, the resupply wouldn't be quite so difficult, however we've had a power failure in the CBD," he said.
"There's no local suppliers currently to draw food stocks from."