Central New South Wales is drowning under a deluge that's been going on for weeks, with no signs of it drying out any time soon.
New South Wales State Emergency Service (SES) officials involved in rescue work in the flooded towns around the overflowing Wyangala Dam near Cowra. Australia's east coast has been repeatedly swept by heavy rainfall in the past two years, driven by back-to-back La Nina cycles. Photo: Supplied
In the small rural town of Eugowra one person has died, and another is still missing, after locals described the town being hit by a tsunami-like wave of water.
A majority of homes and businesses in the town of Forbes have been inundated - for the second time in as many weeks.
Even with all the warnings and sandbagging, people have been caught out. Fourteen people were rescued from the roof of the local pub overnight.
Mayor of Forbes Phillys Miller told Checkpoint the region was preparing for more of the same.
"We're still waiting for our peak," she said. "We've still got lots and lots of water going through our CBD and inundating homes and businesses. And we are just patiently waiting on the water to pause."
The water rose very quickly last night, necessitating the rescue of people from the pub, while a family across the road also needed help evacuating from their home, she said.
Of those having to leave their homes, many had family and friends to stay with, but others were less fortunate.
"We've got a an evacuation centre, which we've had about 60 odd people register with - a lot of them find alternative accommodation, or we put them up in motels," Miller said.
"The difficulty when people leave their homes, a lot of the times they've got pets too, o we've got to try and house them too."
The mayor said the situation was taking its toll on the rural population, particularly farmers struggling to cope with their losses.
"We're pretty tough mob out here in rural, regional New South Wales. I think this is testing a lot of people, certainly testing our farmers," she said.
"They've been inside for four months, out in the farming districts. They've been isolated. They've lost all their crops, they've lost stock, and then of course, all the people in town, all the residents have been badly affected.
"I think I think it's going to take its toll on people, and I think it's something, as a local government, we need to be really mindful about and make sure that we've got the services there to accommodate those people."
Miller said acting Prime Minister Richard Marles had visited the area today and had a good handle on the situation and damage inflicted. She added the government response had been positive so far.
"We need to make sure that there's some kind of packages in place for small businesses as well as farming community, and people that have lost everything," she said.
