Folks Are Sharing Harrowing Vids Of Their Soaked Towns As Flooding In Central West NSW Worsens

Dam spill in central west nsw floods

NSW State Emergency Service rescued more than 220 people from floodwaters overnight, more than half of which were from one town, and more people are being urged to evacuate as the Wyngala Dam spills over. The pictures of the floods are bloody spine-tingling.

The Wyngala Dam is releasing a record of 230,000 megalitres (!!!) a day and posing serious dangers to communities in the Central West of NSW, and especially those near the Lachlan River.

Emergency Services Minister Steph Cook said more than 70 LGAs in NSW have a natural disaster declaration in place because of the ongoing flooding, and have had so for 63 days in a row.

NSW SES issued an “evacuate now” directive to people in South Albury and Western Plains Tourist Park last night, and residents of Forbes were told to get to higher ground this morning after waters rose faster than originally forecast.

The situation in the Central West is dire and reminiscent of Lismore, with NSW SES revealing it had to rescue people from the rooftops of their homes.

It’s the second time Forbes has been hit by flooding in two weeks. According to the ABC, 500 to 600 properties will experience inundation from the flood and previous river peaks have doubled.

Molong and Canowindra have gone into the early stages of clean-up and recovery after residents were initially isolated and unable to evacuate due to flash-flooding. Eugowra residents are reportedly trying to perform a headcount of the town’s 700-person population on social media.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Steven Bernasconi said eight of the 17 flood warnings affecting about 25 locations are in a “major category”.

“The New South Wales SES are leading what would be the biggest operations in relation to flood response across New South Wales in its history,” NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York said, per the ABC. She said 100 ADF members and 12 personnel from NZ should be arriving today to help out as emergency services struggle to keep up with rescue requests.

“We had 14 helicopters and we have four that are helping us move our resources around that can’t get down the roads because of flooded waters down those roads so today not only are we helping to respond downstream from Forbes but we’re starting rapid damage assessments.”

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