Aerial photographs of the northern NSW town of Ballina have shown the sheer scope of the flood disaster as landmarks across the city are overwhelmed by water.
Bunnings Ballina, near the site of the iconic Big Prawn tourist hotspot, has become inundated by rising floodwaters.
The Bureau of Meteorology has reported water levels exceeding 6.5m in some parts of the Lower Richmond River near Ballina.
In just 24 hours the situation in Ballina has deteriorated dramatically, with many homes inundated by floodwaters and phone reception reportedly patchy.
“We‘ve got serious issues here in Ballina, there’s no point trying to hide it any longer,” Ballina’s mayor, Sharon Cadwallader told the Today Show on Wednesday.
“The river has burst its banks, the whole of the island is filling up.”
Rescue teams have begun searching the town for stranded residents camped out on roofs and trapped inside of flooded buildings.
A family of five from the South of Ballina were rescued by a Queensland Health Life Flight helicopter on Thursday morning.
Paramedics were winched down to the scene where two adults, a teenager and two younger children were boarded onto a rescue basket and lifted into the helicopter.
Ballina was issued evacuation warnings in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Just hours later, the direction changed to “evacuate now” at 6am giving the residents 30 minutes to pack their things and leave.
As of 5am on Wednesday, the SES has received over 3,000 calls for assistance including 255 flood rescues. Most of these calls are coming from the Central Coast suburb of Gosford and a number from outer Sydney suburbs including Penrith, Liverpool and Blacktown.
The following areas are currently under evacuation orders.
The NSW SES continue to advise staying away from flood affected areas and avoiding non-essential travel.
