NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged flood-affected residents to expect the unexpected, as 1000 properties in northern NSW prepare for potential evacuation orders with moderate to major flooding predicted amid continuing heavy rain on Tuesday.
A moderate to major flood warning is in place for communities along the Tweed River in the state's far north-east, where another 200 millimetres has fallen in some areas since 9am on Monday.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Helen Reid said there would be places in the Tweed area that had received up to half a metre of rainfall over the course of the 3-4 day event.
"That’s a lot of rain to go somewhere," she said. "Fortunately for the Tweed, the rain has now eased," she said.
NSW Deputy SES Commissioner Daniel Austin said the intense rainfall in the Tweed Shire overnight Tuesday had caused flash floods and prompted evacuation warnings to be issued in South Murwillumbah and Tumbulgum early on Tuesday, affecting up to 1000 properties.
Those warnings "may move to orders later in the day", he told Nine's Today program.
Park benches are completely under and car parks are quickly disappearing in Tumbulgum as the Tweed River overflows.Credit:Georgia Schefe/Nine
"As a result of some of that flash flooding, we've seen some roads cut and that will lead to some isolation of a number of small communities in that area as well," he said.
But with the rainfall system slowly moving south, Deputy Commissioner Austin said the focus of emergency crews would be shifting to the Mid North Coast.
Ms Reid said weather watchers would be carefully monitoring the Orara and Nambucca rivers on Tuesday, with parts of the Mid North Coast expecting to receive upwards of 100 millimetres rainfall.
Ms Berejiklian told Today that 2020 has taught the state to "expect the unexpected", and urged residents in affected communities to heed warnings and follow advice – and stay out of floodwaters.
Tumbulgum near the Tweed River.Credit:Georgia Schefe/Nine
"We have to assume that conditions will be extreme and worse than what we've seen them for a long time, for a number of years. That's why we're asking everybody to be extra safe," she said.
"We don't want to see lives lost and certainly don't want to see families have a difficult traumatic time this time of year in particular."
In Byron Bay, where erosion is already having a heavy impact on Main Beach, a Nine News camera captured a walkway collapsing into rising waters early on Monday, taking a member of the public down with it. The man was able to climb back up to safety.
Beach restaurant owner Ben Kirkwood said his business had been saved by the headlands that protected the venue from the strong winds.
The restaurant had to be sandbagged with help from the council to protect it from coastal erosion.
"When you are sitting down at Main Beach, it's like being in the face of a cyclone," he said.
Mr Kirkwood said engineers from the council had been constantly monitoring the coastal erosion over the past two days, and he believes the worst is over.
As for its impact on tourism to the town, Mr Kirkwood said his venue had been fully booked despite the weather event and was able to stay open throughout the storm.
"Main Beach has copped the full brunt of it; we've held up pretty well," he said.
"When this weather system passes, people will go back to their normal behaviour."
Erosion creating 'new permanent rips'
The erosion of the beaches means sticking to patrolled beaches and swimming between the flags will be even more important this summer, Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce said.
He told reporters the erosion was "completely changing the entire landscape of the beaches" and was likely to present unexpected dangers for families holidaying on the state's North Coast over the Christmas period.
A tree topples over in Byron Bay.Credit:Nine
"We’re seeing some of the largest coastal erosion we’ve seen in many, many years, particularly around the Byron Bay area," he said.
"From a surf lifesaving perspective, what that means for us is it changes the entire formation of the beaches and also starts to develop new permanent rips around the beaches."
Sandbags protect Beach Byron Bay Cafe after severe erosion on the beach.Credit:Getty
Mr Pearce said that, when tourists descend on the region after the wet weather, "people will be going to beaches where they think it has been safe previously, but there will be new rips".
with Sarah Keoghan
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Jenny Noyes is a journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald.
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2020-12-14 21:49:00Z
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