Parts of New South Wales are expected to be declared a disaster zone due to flooding while forecasters warn of more to come.
Premier Mike Baird visited the flood-struck town of Forbes in the state’s central west on Monday, praising the efforts of local State Emergency Service volunteers and giving hope to those whose lives have been affected that further help would be forthcoming.
“It is very likely to be declared a natural disaster which will mean further assistance will come,” Mr Baird told reporters while visiting the town.
The local river peaked at over 10 meters at about 9:30 on Sunday night. The SES advised people in low-lying areas to evacuate. The evacuation orders are still in effect.
The appears to be little respite on offer for those already suffering, though. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has warned of a new low weather system set to dump more heavy rain on Australia’s south east coast from Wednesday through to Friday.
SEVERE WEATHER UPDATE: Gale force winds & heavy rain affecting sthn Aus. Current at 2pm AEST 26/9. Info: https://t.co/cDInrl6h0Z #floods pic.twitter.com/E9RrMneFC5
— BOM Australia (@BOM_au) September 26, 2016
“It is clear there is more rain coming, that is obviously bad news,” Mr Baird said in Forbes.
NSW Farmers President Derek Schoen said that due to restricted road access as a result of the flooding, some dairy farmers have been forced to dump milk and that the full scale of damage wont be known until flood waters recede.
”The biggest loss for farmers in flood-affected parts of NSW will be crops, including wheat, chickpeas and canola but with several river systems across NSW likely to remain high for prolonged periods of time, the full extent of damage won’t be known for a number of weeks until water subsides,” Mr Schoen said, according to AAP.
The damage bill is already expected to run into the tens of millions of dollars.