On Air Now

Tom Hooper

3:00pm - 6:00pm

  • 01723 336444

Now Playing

Bananarama

Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)

Download

Australia floods: Natural disaster declared in New South Wales as four months of rain falls in just two days

A natural disaster has been declared in Australia after unprecedented floods in New South Wales.

More than four months' worth of rain has fallen in the past two days - and at least one person is known to have died.

The body of a 63-year-old man was found in a flooded home about 186 miles north of Sydney, in a hard-hit town where farms have been washed away and roads destroyed.

Police say there are "grave fears" for three others who are missing - including a 60-year-old woman and two men aged 25 and 49.

"We should be bracing for more tough news over the next 24 hours," New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told ABC News.

People across the state have been warned that the situation may get worse between now and Friday, with 50,000 told they must prepare to isolate.

Entire towns have been cut off - with more than 100 schools closed and an estimated 5,300 businesses and homes without power.

Essential Energy, which maintains electricity infrastructure across New South Wales, fears the outages could last for days because of extensive damage to power lines.

Some of those affected by the record flooding have been stranded for hours as they await rescue, with fast-flowing water making it too dangerous to send out boats.

The treacherous conditions also mean it has been difficult to deploy helicopters.

Andrew Edmunds, a spokesperson for Australia's State Emergency Service, said there are "about 100 to 150 incidents that we are yet to get to, because access is not really possible".

Two people in their 70s were winched to safety from the roof of their car after driving into floodwaters, and were checked over by paramedics.

Read from Sky News:
Tornado and funnel cloud might hit parts of UK

Long-term weather forecasts could get more accurate

Forecasters say further life-threatening flash floods are possible in the coming hours, and some areas could receive up to 300mm (12in) of rain by Friday.

Government ministers have told local media that "we aren't over the worst of it yet" - especially considering that some rivers are still to peak.

New South Wales is prone to flooding. Jeremy Thornton, a local insurance broker, told ABC News that this makes it "impossible" for some homeowners to take out a policy.

He revealed that some companies refuse to offer quotes in vulnerable postcodes - with one person told that their premium would cost half of their yearly wage.

Sky News

(c) Sky News 2025: Australia floods: Natural disaster declared in New South Wales as four months of r

Did you find this article useful?

This is the Coast is committed to providing a daily local news service for the Yorkshire Coast. We are a small locally owned and operated business which employs professional journalists and reporters. We do not receive any public funding or grants and we are entirely funded by our local commercial operations. We enjoy fabulous support from local businesses who work with us on their advertising and marketing campaigns, but the cost of providing high quality, well researched, fact checked local news coverage is significant.

If you appreciate what This is the Coast does, and would like to help support our journalism, please consider supporting us on a monthly basis today.

A small contribution from all our readers would really help support independent journalism for the Yorkshire Coast.

More from World News

Follow Us

Get Our Apps

Our Apps are now available for iOS, Android and Smart Speakers.

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play
  • Just ask Amazon Alexa
  • Available on Roku

Today's Weather

  • Scarborough

    Sunny intervals

    High: 12°C | Low: 7°C

  • Filey

    Sunny

    High: 13°C | Low: 5°C

  • Whitby

    Sunny intervals

    High: 12°C | Low: 7°C

  • Bridlington

    Sunny

    High: 13°C | Low: 6°C

  • Hornsea

    Sunny intervals

    High: 13°C | Low: 5°C

  • Driffield

    Sunny intervals

    High: 13°C | Low: 5°C

News