Dozens of residents in the city of Taree are stranded on the roof of their homes and awaiting rescue as the region is forecast to receive between 150mm to 300mm of rainfall.
The Manning River has surged past six metres, breaking its all-time flood record set in 1929 and threatening thousands more homes.
Towns told to evacuate now
In the last half hour, the SES has urged a half-dozen towns to evacuate.
Flooding on the Macleay river is rising, with several towns in the firing line.
They include:
- Kempsey CBD
- Gladstone
- Smithtown
- Kinchala, Jerseyville and Spencerville in South West Rocks
- The right bank of the Belmore River
Cow lost in floodwaters
Images show flooding across Taree
The SES Commissioner says the Manning River may have broken 100-year-old flood records.
“What we have seen is record floods in terms of the Manning River,” Wassing said.
“Previous records were in the 1920s.”
He said the flooding had plateaued at a 6.3 high-water mark.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Steve Bernasconi has given a bit more detail on the massive flooding at Taree’s Manning River.
“Taree has exceeded its 1929 flood record of 5.9m,” he said.
“It reached 6.37 metres at 9am today.
“The two-day total to 9am this morning of about 412mm at Taree is a new annual record.
“To give context of what that level of rain means, 412mm in essentially two days is five times the monthly rainfall for May for Taree.”
“In essence, Taree has received one-third of its average annual rainfall in two days.”
Source Credit: 9 News