Trapped residents have been forced onto their rooftops as they battle to avoid rising waters amid an unprecedented flood crisis sweeping across northern NSW.
Chaotic scenes have emerged on social media of dozens of Lismore residents stranded, begging to be rescued as river levels continue to rise and exceed record highs.
“The water’s still rising, my dog is stuck inside my house,” resident Lucy Vader said in video posted to Facebook on Monday morning.
“I’m on a steep roof that’s slimy and slippery.
“I’m having to flex my back to stay on the roof and not slip off.”
Desperate residents have swamped community Facebook groups to beg overstretched rescuers to come to their aid or the aid of vulnerable elderly neighbours and family members.
“Elderly couple in desperate need as they cannot access the roof and are stuck inside … water up to their chests,” Maddy Chesworth posted.
“An elderly couple, their daughter and her two young children have not been rescued and are up to their necks in water … they are inside their roof, they had no other option but to climb inside and are stuck … the elderly women and the two young kids are unable to swim,” another user posted.
With rain continuing to fall, the Bureau of Meteorology is warning the Wilsons xjmtzywRiver could reach a peak high of 14.5m on Monday afternoon, eclipsing the 12.4m record set in 1880.
Lismore councillor and former takeaway shop owner “Big Rob” is among thousands of residents forced to evacuate.
“All my possessions and everything are gone, uninsured,” he said.
“I’m up at Lismore Heights out of the flood area so I’m OK … that’s just stuff.
“There’s a lot of people desperate to be rescued, clinging to attic spaces in roofs and the water’s still rising. It’s crazy … no one could have planned for this. We do need all the help we can get but we need professional help … it’s still raining here, we’ve got a lot more water to come, so for inexperienced people to be out there at the moment it’s not appropriate. We could end up with more people needing rescues.”
Paul Smith, his wife Donna and their dog Mr Baggins are watching the record flood rush by their house, fearing for the safety of their neighbours.
“We’re as safe as we can be right now sitting on the veranda watching the water running underneath the house,” Mr Smith said.
Water has already rushed through their Corndale home, lifting the carpet and linoleum.
He said the smell of the floodwaters that swept through their home earlier on Monday had forced them to wait outside.
Their elderly landlords live just across the road and have been walking around in knee-deep floodwaters.
“We’re worried about them, they’ve lost a lot of stuff already,” Mr Smith said. “So have we.
“Reception is really bad, there is no power and no Wi-Fi,” he added, checking his phone to see the battery has already drained to 50 per cent.
