Latest news with #Cundletown
ABC News
23-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Mates in tinny rescue dozens from flood in 'forgotten' NSW community
Flynn Holman's trusty tinny turned from fishing companion to lifesaving vessel this week, as he helped rescue dozens of residents from floodwaters on the NSW Mid North Coast. The 21-year-old decided to help after his community of Cundletown was blind-sighted by record-breaking floods. The small town is located 8-kilometres east of Taree, in one of regions most impacted by this week's wild weather. "We didn't really have a choice [but to help]. "You deal with the hand you're dealt." Mr Holman, an electrician, along with friends Tyson Lewis and John Dyball, began helping isolated residents move out of the floodwaters on Wednesday. He said it had been "non-stop" since then. "They have lost everything, absolutely everything," Mr Holman said. On Friday, the group accessed a commercial fishing boat to make travel easier, as they helped people assess damage to their properties. "We were battling a pretty heavy current in Ghinni Ghinni Creek and [were] just trying to dodge silage bales, fences … gates, all sorts of stuff," he said. Mr Holman also helped set up an unofficial evacuation centre in the local church, where hot meals were being made for isolated residents and displaced truck drivers. "I understand it's a stressful time but we can't just turn our back on people. "You've got to rely on the locals." NSW State Emergency Service Chief Superintendent Dallas Burnes said conditions had proved challenging, especially east of Taree in areas like Cundletown. "Once the road network gets cut there, everything turns into an island," he said. Superintendent Burnes said the "dangerous" conditions caused some delays to rescues. "[We had] incredibly strong currents in the river … it's raining locally, the winds are blowing at 70 kilometres per hour and they're asking to be rescued," he said. "We physically can't get teams to do that. The aviation efforts in many cases can't fly." Meanwhile, residents in Port Macquarie rallied to drop supplies by boat to isolated residents in the town's flooded North Shore community, on the northern side of the Hastings River. North Shore residents were without power on Friday, and the car ferries connecting the area were out of action. Dale Jordan and his wife helped buy groceries and deliver them to a local barge doing a supply run on Friday morning. "My brother Rodney has been there for 40 years, right on the river," he said. "They are used to it, but this one is a bit different to the 2021 floods — the water is staying around for a lot longer." Oyster farmers in Coopernook, including Ian Crisp, picked up more than a dozen people across Wednesday and Thursday. Chief Superintendent Burnes said it was "amazing" to see communities rally together, but encouraged residents to stay safe while assisting others. "Spontaneous volunteers are something we need to embrace … if people can get out there and help communities in that crisis period," he said. Coopernook Rural Fire Service Captain Sherrie Gaul received phone calls from people isolated and in need of rescue this week. Her brigade banded together and commandeered an SES boat to rescue 17 people and 10 dogs. "They were cold, they were wet, they were just so grateful that we got them the help they needed," Ms Gaul said. "It's multi-agency disaster relief right now and there is never going to be enough RFS, SES, police to help every single person." As the flood threat began moving south on Friday, Flynn Holman said the Cundletown community had cautiously begun the clean-up process. He expressed his pride in his local community and how they banded together. For local warnings and information visit ABC Emergency.
News24
22-05-2025
- Climate
- News24
2 dead as flash-flooding hits Australia, but ‘more bad news in the next 24 hours' expected
Flash-flooding hit Australia's southeast coast. Two people have died and 50 000 might face evacuation. More rain is expected. Flash flooding on Australia's southeast coast has killed two people and cut off towns, isolating tens of thousands of residents, as officials on Thursday warned more downpours were expected over the next 24 hours. Major flooding hit several rural towns in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, with most of the Mid North Coast region facing further heavy rainfall through Thursday. Police said the body of a 63-year-old man was found in a flooded home near Taree, more than 300km north of Sydney, while another body believed to be that of a missing man aged in his 30s had been discovered in flood waters on the Mid North Coast. 'We're bracing for more bad news in the next 24 hours. This natural disaster has been terrible for this community,' New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said during a media briefing. 'There's 140 flood warnings, 50 000 people are in the range where they have been asked to prepare to evacuate and could be isolated, and there's been 9 500 properties in the direct vicinity. So, we're far from out of the woods here.' Two men and one woman have been reported missing in separate incidents, authorities said earlier. More than 100 schools were closed on Thursday, while thousands of properties remained without power. Cundletown in the Mid North Coast has been entirely cut off by floods, said Nicole Sammut, a nurse caring for 67 elderly residents at an aged care home, which is also being used as a shelter by emergency teams. 'I came to work on Tuesday and haven't left,' Sammut told Reuters. 'We are up on a hill but behind us is all water. We are isolated. I've never seen the water this high.' The Manning River in nearby Taree had exceeded a 100-year-old flood record, emergency authorities said. Sherinah Peck was evacuated at 02:00 on Wednesday from her farmhouse on the river, but her belongings were swept away, with some furniture later washing up on the coast. Torrential rain lashed eastern Australia on Thursday, swelling already engorged rivers, engulfing roads and leaving almost 50,000 people stranded. — AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 22, 2025 As she searched Old Bar beach on Thursday, strewn with debris and dead and lost livestock, for a treasured bicycle that belonged to her late mother, Peck was knocked over by a cow and injured, she said. 'The cow was distressed - a wave came. I had to scramble up the sand,' she told Reuters. A slow-moving coastal trough has dumped about four months of rain over the past two days, cutting off entire towns and stranding residents on roofs and the second floors of their homes, as rescuers struggle to access the area by boat or air. Minns apologised to people who had to wait for several hours for rescue crews, but assured efforts had been ramped up with 2 500 emergency services personnel being deployed. Twenty-two people had been rescued by helicopter, including 18 winched from flooded homes and roads, and four rescued from a bridge, NSW Police said. The helicopters have been directing more boat rescues. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology forecast that some areas could receive up to 200mm of rain through Friday, triggering life-threatening flash flooding, before the weather system is expected to weaken and track south toward Sydney.
Asharq Al-Awsat
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Torrential Rain Ravages Australian Towns, Thousands Brace for Isolation
Torrential rain pummeled Australia's southeast on Thursday, triggering flash flooding and forcing officials to issue fresh evacuation orders, while 50,000 residents were warned to prepare to isolate with more downpours expected over the next 24 hours. Major flooding hit several rural towns in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, with most of the Mid North Coast region facing further heavy rainfall through Thursday. Police said the body of a 63-year-old man was found in a flooded home near Taree, more than 300 km (186 miles) north of Sydney. The rural town is one of the worst-hit by the floods, which have washed away farms and destroyed homes, roads and bridges, Reuters reported. "We're bracing for more bad news in the next 24 hours. This natural disaster has been terrible for this community," New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said during a media briefing. "There's 140 flood warnings, 50,000 people are in the range where they have been asked to prepare to evacuate and could be isolated, and there's been 9,500 properties in the direct vicinity. So, we're far from out of the woods here." Two men and one woman have been reported missing in separate incidents, authorities said. More than 100 schools were closed on Thursday, while thousands of properties remained without power. Cundletown in the Mid North Coast has been entirely cut off by floods, said Nicole Sammut, a nurse caring for 67 elderly residents at an aged care home, which is also being used as a shelter by emergency teams. "I came to work on Tuesday and haven't left," Sammut told Reuters. "We are up on a hill but behind us is all water. We are isolated. I've never seen the water this high." A slow-moving coastal trough has dumped about four months of rain over the past two days, cutting off entire towns and stranding residents on roofs and the second floors of their homes, as rescuers struggle to access the area by boat or air. Minns apologized to people who had to wait for several hours for rescue crews, but assured efforts had been ramped up with 2,500 emergency services personnel being deployed. Television images showed a woman winched to a helicopter from a flooded property, while several people were seen being rescued on boats. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology forecast that some areas could receive up to 200 mm (8 inches) of rain through Friday, triggering life-threatening flash flooding, before the weather system is expected to weaken and track south towards Sydney.
