A man has died after his car became trapped in floodwaters in Sydney’s north west on Wednesday morning, becoming the first known death from the devastating NSW floods.
At about 6.25am on Wednesday, emergency services responded to reports of a car trapped in floodwaters on Cattai Ridge Road, near Hidden Valley Lane, at Glenorie.
Police, as well as the SES Flood rescue team, searched for the vehicle in the area. Sadly, at about 1.10pm, the vehicle was found with a man’s body inside.
The man has yet to be formally identified, police said in a statement.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison extended his condolences to the family of the man in parliament.
“We have seen so much over the course of the past year and more as this country has battled so many things – floods, fires, viruses, drought and these floods again,” Morrison said.
“And now this family will get this news and they will grieve.”
Authorities have desperately called on all drivers around NSW to avoid walking, riding, or driving through floodwaters as roads are swallowed whole by rain.
On Saturday, the NSW SES Parramatta Unit posted a video of a man in a car driving straight through a flooded road, despite the water level rising above his headlights at one point.
“Please don’t put yourself and our volunteers at risk by driving into floodwater,” the organisation wrote on Facebook.
“Remember, if it’s flooded – forget it!”
