Record floodwaters in eastern Australia leave 2 dead and 2 missing

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Record floodwaters on Australia’s east coast left two people dead and two others missing, officials said Thursday, as more heavy rain was forecast in the area.

More than 500 people were rescued in the flooding emergency in New South Wales state north of Sydney. The area has been hit with heavy rain since Tuesday. The flooding exceeds local records set in 1921 and 1929.

News South Wales Premier Christopher Minns said some areas were forecast to receive as much as 30 centimeters (1 foot) of rain in the next 24 hours. He said 50,000 people were warned to prepare to evacuate or be isolated by floodwaters, telling reporters: “We are bracing for more bad news.”

The body of a 63-year-old man was recovered from a flooded house in Moto in New South Wales on Wednesday afternoon, Fire and Rescue Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said. A coroner will determine whether a pre-existing medical condition played a part in his death, he added.

The body of a man, aged in his 30s, was recovered from floodwaters early Thursday, a police statement said. He had disappeared while attempting to drive through a flooded intersection on Wednesday night.

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A 60-year-old woman remained missing after her SUV became trapped in floodwaters on Wednesday night. The SUV was found Thursday, police said.

A 49-year-old man also failed to return home after walking near a flooded road on Wednesday night, police said.

Minns said more than 500 people had been rescued from floodwater in just over two days, many after trying to drive across flooded roads.

Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said 330 flood rescues were conducted in the past 24 hours. Helicopters have been used to rescue people stranded by floodwaters from rooftops and verandahs.

“We’ve seen more rain and more flooding in the mid-to-north coast area than we’ve ever seen before,” Dib said.

The flooding has hit communities including Taree, Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Bellingen in New South Wales.

Taree received a month’s rain in 24 hours, an official said.

“Up around the Taree area, we’ve seen communities that have never flooded in recorded history now flooding,” Fewtrell said.

The region has opened 14 evacuation centers as of Thursday.

Government meteorologist Angus Hines said a low-pressure weather system had stalled over the flooded region since Monday, bringing 60 centimeters (2 feet) of rain to some parts.

“If it had only been one day and then it had gone, we would have seen some minor or moderate flooding but it wouldn’t have been too bad. But four days in a row of this amount of rainfall and we see this significant and extensive, widespread and major flood event happening in front of our eyes,” Hines said.

The rain was losing intensity on Thursday, Hines said.