Homes cut off as streets turn into rivers after mega rain bomb in NSW

Thousands of homes have been cut off and streets have turned into rivers on NSW’s Mid North Coast as catastrophic flooding in the region turns deadly. 

A 63-year-old man yet to be identified by police was found in his flood-ravaged home on North Moto Road near Coopernook about 3pm on Wednesday. 

His grieving daughter told Daily Mail Australia her dad had sent rescuers to save his family before he was found dead at his rural property just hours later.  

As his family boarded the limited supply of boats, he opted to stay with his blind dog and 30-head herd of cattle – before tragedy struck. 

His daughter paid tribute to the local heroes who were leading search efforts, saying they deserved a ‘medal of recognition for all the families they’ve saved’. 

‘(They have) saved sh**loads of families compared to the SES… the SES don’t know the river systems like the locals do,’ she said. ‘They are all fathers; they have the drive to save people, because they’ve needed saving before.’

NSW Police confirmed on Thursday three more people are missing. 

The torrential rain and subsequent flash flooding has triggered over 1,000 SES incidents and cut off thousands of homes. 

A photo of a flooded street near Settlement Point Road in Port Macquarie (pictured) comes as up to 50,000 people are warned they could be isolated on Thursday

A flooded truck is seen in a photo from the NSW SES as hundreds of rescues are performed

A photo of a flooded street near Settlement Point Road in Port Macquarie has revealed the true extent of the rising floodwaters – as some 50,000 people are warned they could be isolated on Thursday.

Prolonged heavy rainfall is set to continue throughout the day, with Kempsey and Coffs Harbour among the communities on high alert for flash flooding.

Falls between 200-300mm over the next 24 hours are likely and may lead to flash flooding around the North Coast communities of Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Taree, Woolgoolga, Sawtell and Dorrigo.

The deluge has spread to the Northern Rivers and Northern Tablelands as a slow-moving trough dumped rain along Australia’s east coast.

The NSW SES said it had responded to 1,023 incidents, including 339 flood rescues, in the 24 hours to 5am. 

More than 100 rescues in Taree, Glenthorne, Oxley Island and Motowere were outstanding on Thursday morning. 

SES Assistant Commissioner Colin Malone said conditions had been challenging. 

‘We’ve seen continual rainfall and very fast flowing rivers which, when combined with flooded roads, have made it very difficult to access some isolated people,’ he said. 

A slow-moving trough is bringing heavy falls of 200-300mm to regions in New South Wales

A woman is seen being winched to safety from a rooftop in Taree, in NSW’s northeast

Sand bags are seen outside a shop in Port Macquarie as floods ravage the Mid North Coast

NSW Premier Chris Minns told the Today Show he was saddened by the death of the 63-year-old on the NSW Mid North Coast. 

‘It’s very sad, and when there’s these terrible natural disasters, they hit ordinary families in terrible ways and our heart goes out to obviously that man and his family,’ he told the program on Thursday. 

‘I’m very grateful we’ve got thousands of volunteers and the local community has really rallied in the last 48 hours, but they’ve needed to.’ 

More than 130 warnings are currently in place, with local residents in the path of flooding urged to head to higher ground and evacuate if they can.