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.
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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.
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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.
