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Source: ONE News -
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Hundreds of people have been left isolated by flooding in the north of New South Wales, Australia.
The town of Bourke has been declared a disaster zone after three-quarters of its annual rainfall fell in just a day.
Twenty-five homes were flooded, major roads were cut and much of the town's infrastructure was severely damaged.
As the waters begin to slowly recede, the extent of the damage is becoming evident and government help is on the way in the form of natural disaster assistance.
"That at the moment doesn't have a fixed dollar figure on it because we have to wait and see what the bills are like before we see that money roll out," says Emergency Services Minister, Steve Whan.
The river town of Bellingen reported heavy rainfall overnight in the upper catchments areas.
"Floods are a fact of life in our part of the world but this particular one the river rose extraordinarily fast during the night," says Bellingen Mayor, Mark Troy.
The torrential rain turned once lush paddocks into ponds and forced residents to higher ground.
Bellingen's main road has reopened, but areas upriver remain isolated.
"It'll be some days, I imagine, before they'll be able to leave and get into town to get supplies," says Troy.
Emergency services in the Hunter Valley are on alert, as the low pressure system responsible makes its way down the NSW coast.
Volunteers have been briefed and 18 emergency services units are on stand-by.
A second rain-laden depression is forecast for later in the week.
