Recovery teams in New South Wales face huge task after floods

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An estimated 50,000 people in more than a dozen towns across the NSW Hunter and Mid North Coast regions remain cut off and many emergency warnings are still in place despite most river levels falling.

Five flood-related deaths have been confirmed since the latest bout of flooding hit the state.

Efforts are under way to clean up and help the hardest-hit communities, including in Taree, Kempsey, Dungog, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour, with essential supply drops delivered by boat and helicopter.

Authorities are also focused on sending bulk supplies to local supermarkets by water and air and delivering individual medical and food supplies to cut-off communities, the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has said.

‘It just kept coming’

Tanya Brown — who, along with her husband, has owned a music store in the regional centre of Taree for 30 years — estimated the floods had caused at least $700,000 in losses.

She told SBS News she was “shocked” by how quickly the water had come in compared to the 2021 floods, which caused her and her husband about $350,000 in damages.

“We thought we had a few more hours to get stuff out,” she said. “It just kept coming. The water didn’t stop.”

The Manning River reached its highest level on record at Taree as it and the surrounding area were hit with months of rain in a period of days.

A woman in a black Nirvana T-shirt sorts damaged music shop merchandise on a storefront footpath.

The massive cleanup in Taree’s CBD is underway with an army of volunteers helping businesses like this music shop, where water rose to neck height, destroying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stock. Source: SBS News / Alexandra Jones

“Because the water hung around for a lot longer, we’ve got a bit more of a mess to clean up this time.”

Brown said friends, customers, musicians and even strangers had come to help clean up the store.

“That’s what we do in Taree.”

Still, she considered herself luckier than some of her neighbours.

“There’s a family here that’s lost 450 of their cattle,” she said through tears. “When the water goes down, they’re going to find all of them on their property.”

At least 10,000 properties damaged

Up to 10,000 properties had been damaged in the floods, NSW SES commissioner Mike Wassing said on Saturday.

“We have started that work and this will scale up in coming days and certainly into next week as we move into the longer-term recovery,” he said.

“Many of these communities have experienced this before, but in some cases, maybe not to this extent.”

Crews were prioritising damage assessments in areas where floodwaters were beginning to subside, SES chief superintendent Paul McQueen said.

“We will have an increased number of volunteers out in force today to start the damage assessment process,” he said.

Assessors will evaluate roads and bridges to ensure their safety before any evacuation orders are revoked, with residents urged not to ignore closed roads even if no water is around.

While there are still flood risks, the state will face more settled conditions across the weekend after severe weather warnings were cancelled late on Friday evening.

“At this stage, we’re still expecting some of those flood levels to slowly recede through the course of the weekend and into early next week,” Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Gabrielle Woodhouse said.

‘A skip on top of the outhouse’

Gus Farland, the owner of a law firm in Taree found some unexpected surprises at his building when he went to inspect it after floodwaters receded.

“Amusingly, there’s a skip [bin] on top of the outhouse,” he told SBS News.

A composite image. One the left is a skip bin resting on the roof of an outside toilet. On the right a fish floats in shallow brackish water.

The owner of a law firm in the Taree CBD said floodwaters rose above the first level of his building. He came back to find a skip bin washed up onto the roof of an outdoor toilet and live fish flapping in water in the backyard. Source: SBS News / Alexandra Jones

“Then I found six bass flapping around in the grass this morning. Someone very kindly returned them to the river this morning.”

Flood death toll stands at five

The flood-related death toll stands at five, while the SES has conducted 768 rescues since the event began.

A man believed to be in his 80s was found inside a burnt-out vehicle in the shed of a Cooplacurripa property, about 50km northwest of Taree.

Severe weather conditions stopped emergency crews from accessing the man’s home when a concern for his welfare was raised two days earlier.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who toured flood-impacted areas with NSW Premier Chris Minns on Saturday, said it was “awful to hear the news of more loss of life on the Mid North Coast, with the death of a man north-west of Taree”.

“All of our thoughts are with his loved ones and the community at this time.”

The body of a man in his late 70s was also found on Friday after his vehicle appeared to be swept off a causeway at Nana Glen, near Coffs Harbour.

Another man died at a flooded home near Taree, as did a driver west of Port Macquarie and a 60-year-old woman near Coffs Harbour.

A 49-year-old man, who was reported missing on Wednesday after being spotted walking around flooded areas, has been located safe and well, NSW Police said.

Over 2,700 insurance claims already filed

More than 2,700 claims had come in from flood-hit areas and a hub would be established in Taree on Tuesday to help insured, the Insurance Council of Australia said.

Farmers are also beginning to take stock of their losses after cattle were washed down rivers and many properties suffered significant damage.

Roads and bridges will be evaluated before evacuation orders are revoked, with residents urged not to ignore road closures even if no water is around.

Efforts are under way to clean up and help the hardest-hit communities, including in Taree, where this photo was taken. Credit: AAP Image/Supplied by Sharon Revell

Assistance grants of $180 per person or $900 for families are expected to roll out in the coming days and those unable to work will have access to a disaster recovery allowance from Monday.

However, long-term recovery support was still being figured out and the premier wanted to avoid over-promising after previous, well-intentioned flood responses – including property buybacks – came up short.

“I’ve seen these programs … not actually work or apply to just a small number of people,” Minns said.

“We’re determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past, given we’re having more and more of these natural disasters.”