Heavy NSW, Queensland rains cause flooding amid wet outlook

Heavy rainfall has hit NSW and southeast Queensland, causing flooding in areas including the hard-hit Northern Rivers region, as the Bureau of Meteorology says wetter than usual weather is likely to persist through to the end of the year.

“Overnight we saw river rises across the Northern Rivers catchment and as a result of that intense rainfall the SES sent out a rainfall alert for people living in the low-lying areas of Tweed, Ballina, Lismore and Byron, NSW SES Chief Superintendent Dallas Burnes told ABC television today.

Mr Burnes said there had been four rescues involving vehicles overnight, while yesterday the SES said there had been 49 flood rescues and it had handled 543 requests for assistance after flooding in a number of locations across the state.

The rain had doused western and southern parts of the state before affecting Mid-North Coast and Northern Rivers regions. Conditions had eased today, but flooding was expected to continue along coastal rivers for the remainder of Friday into Saturday, the SES said.

The SES has pre-positioned flood response vehicles and teams in NSW, as Australia experiences a third consecutive La Nina. An incident management team is operating from near Lismore to co-ordinate the response to any incidents that may happen in the area.

Numerous Bureau of Meteorology warnings remained current for NSW rivers today, mostly for minor flooding, after rainfall totals in the 24 hours to 9am exceeded 100mm in some locations.

Queensland has also been hit by the wild weather, with intense rainfall falling across the Gold Coast and hinterland region overnight. The top 24-hour total of 317mm was received at Upper Springbrook, falling in a short period.

The Bureau of Meteorology says in a weekly overview that rainfall is likely to be above median for the eastern half of Australia for October to December.

“La Nina, a negative Indian Ocean Dipole event, a positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode and warmer waters around Australia are all contributing to wetter outlooks over large parts of Australia,” it says.

Insurers are continuing to handle claims from the record-breaking Queensland and NSW flooding earlier this year, and have been holding community meetings with affected customers.

Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) CEO Andrew Hall said earlier this month that insurers are “absolutely at capacity” as they work through claims valued at $5.28 billion. Figures at that time showed 44.1% of claims had been closed, with 129,000 still outstanding.

ICA has encouraged at-risk property owners to take preparatory steps to ensure their homes are well protected against floods in the coming months.