The Queensland flood death toll currently stands at eight
Meanwhile, a man is feared dead in Lismore after NSW Police officers on Sunday saw him calling for help but quickly lost sight of him, fearing he may have been washed down a drain.Credit:Lismore residents were forced to leave their homes after the NSW State Emergency Service ordered all citizens to evacuate before 5am on Monday morning due to “extremely dangerous” floods.
NSW Police also declared Lismore CBD off-limits to all pedestrians and vehicular traffic after being “inundated” with water.The floods in the region were “unprecedented”, the weather bureau’s senior meteorologist Jackson Browne said, with rainfall on Monday breaking the town’s weather records. The Bureau of Meteorology’s Browne said the floods in northern NSW and in south-east Queensland were “biblical in nature”. Lismore recorded 181mm of rain in 30 minutes to 9.15am alone.
One person said they were on a rooftop in North Lismore, “3 people and a dog. Can’t get thru on phone. We are in the roof ..it has a window onto the roof”. “The situation in Lismore and surrounds is extremely dangerous and rapidly evolving. NSW SES continues to receive requests from residents to assist with evacuations.”
If only our Federal Government had used some of its unspent $4.7b disaster preparedness fund on preparing for, you know, disasters.