NSW: 4,000 residents isolated by flood waters, but rain easing

AAP General News (Australia)
02-18-2009
NSW: 4,000 residents isolated by flood waters, but rain easing

SYDNEY, Feb 18 AAP - Rains have eased, but more than 4,000 people remain isolated by
flood waters in parts of northern NSW, the State Emergency Service (SES) says.

Heavy rains falling since Friday have soaked large parts of the state between Bourke
and Sydney, but began easing on Tuesday night, SES director general Murray Kear said.

"We've got about 4,000 people still isolated along the Bellinger River at the communities
of Bellingen, Darkwood and Thora," Mr Kear said.

"Those communities are isolated by the Bellinger River, which we are monitoring and
has showed a slight lowering.

"There have been no signs of an increase overnight, with no further rain, and the river
is steady at about 5.3 metres currently."

The river peaked at over eight metres on Tuesday.

"We've had a couple of evacuations from caravan parks in the areas, with about 20 people
taken to community centres," he said.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts a further 100mm of rain in the area on Wednesday,
but Mr Kear said satellite images showed the rain falling over the Pacific Ocean.

"Once this east coast low disperses, they are forecasting finer weather for the rest
of the week, giving us a chance to mop up and assess the damage," Mr Kear said.

Since Friday, he said, more than 350mm of rain had fallen at Bellingen.

At Bourke in the state's central north, where a natural disaster zone has been declared,
200mm of rain has fallen in the past few days, equivalent to two-thirds of the city's
annual rainfall.

"I visited that area (on Tuesday) where it is predicted some $6 million worth of damage
has been caused by the rains," Mr Kear said.

"I will visit Coffs Harbour and Bellingen with Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan
today, and we will be looking at the damage in that area."

Between Bourke and Sydney and stretching to the coast, the SES has received more than
2,000 calls for assistance since Friday.

"We've conducted nine flood rescues across the north coast - people stranded in vehicles,
et cetera," Mr Kear said.

On Tuesday night and early on Wednesday morning, the SES received 100 calls for help
in the greater Sydney area from people beset by water inundation.

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KEYWORD: RAIN NSW UPDATE

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