Several towns in northern New South Wales, already reeling after record floods over a month ago, were pounded by an intense low-pressure system overnight. Some regions took a month's rainfall in under six hours, officials said.
“Unfortunately overnight, our worst fears have been realised with significant heavy rainfall across already saturated landscapes,” New South Wales Emergency Services Minister Stephanie Cooke said during a media briefing. The main street in Byron Bay, a popular tourist destination about 750km north of Sydney, was inundated with several shops under water, television footage showed. One family was seen wading out through knee-deep water, one woman with a child on the hip and other members carrying suitcases filled with belongings.
“Oh, it's devastating,” Annick Nuylle, a Byron Bay store owner said. “I've put many years and a lot of love and hard work, so no matter if there is or there is no insurance, I think it's my livelihood and it has been my life for 17 years, so it's very sad.” Dean Prosser, another resident of Byron Bay, said he has never seen so much rain in the more than 50 years he has lived in the town. “We just had too much water fall out of the sky,” he told broadcaster ABC.