Natural disaster declared for NSW
<p dir="ltr">The Australian Government has declared a natural disaster for parts of New South Wales. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Torrential rain has continued to batter the state as tens of thousands of residents have evacuated flood prone areas, others have been left stranded waiting to be rescued by the SES, and 21 people are stuck in a cargo ship following an engine failure. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The SES said there were 5,300 calls for help, 252 people were rescued overnight and a further 45,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Despite the rain expecting to ease today, SES Assistant Commissioner Sean Kearns there’s concern for certain areas. </p>
<p dir="ltr">"Our biggest concern today is ongoing riverine flooding along the Hawkesbury, Nepean and the Georges rivers, with our focus areas being McGraths Hill, Pitt Town, Woronora, Liverpool and Milperra," he said. </p>
<p dir="ltr">A natural disaster has been declared in 23 Local Government Areas which have been left submerged by rising waters.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The residents in the 23 LGAs affected by the severe storms and flooding since June 27, will now be eligible for disaster relief payments funded by the NSW government and the Commonwealth.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The LGAs include Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Canterbury Bankstown, Campbelltown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Fairfield, Georges River, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Kiama, Lithgow, Liverpool, Northern Beaches, Penrith, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Sutherland, The Hills, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We have seen some of these impacted communities being hit by floods for a third and fourth time in 18 months, which is extremely distressing to the residents of these communities,” Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Watt said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“The Australian and New South Wales governments have worked very cooperatively through this latest flood emergency, to ensure defence and other resources were deployed early and fast.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Similarly, we’re now working hard together to make sure that impacted communities get the financial and other assistance they need as soon as possible.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">It comes as a delicate rescue operation continues for bulk carrier ship Portland Bay after it lost power on Monday leaving 21 crew members stranded. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The ship then began drifting towards the coast of the Royal National Park, south of Sydney but the crew managed to drop two anchors in the wild 5.5m swells. </p>
<p dir="ltr">John Finch, chief operating officer at Port Authority, said the main objective was to move the ship to deeper waters. </p>
<p dir="ltr">"The priority is getting this vessel and its crew into safer waters and away from land and the potential of grounding," he said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"All tugs have now arrived and connected to the ship so the operation has commenced to raise its anchors and move this ship safely out to sea in a slow and controlled manner.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"The conditions make the towage operation quite difficult. In eight-metre swell, the vessel is going to be rising and falling and rolling. That's going to put a lot of stress on the equipment and the tug lines." </p>
<p dir="ltr">The port authority has managed to move the ship about 20 nautical miles offshore and out of immediate danger.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Images: SES/Nine News</em></p>
