Flash floods submerge Australian towns, residents rescued from rooftops

Torrential rains in southeast Australia triggered flash floods and stranded residents on rooftops on Wednesday, prompting emergency evacuation orders across New South Wales as rivers swelled beyond danger levels.

Intense rainfall has lashed southeast Australia, submerging rural towns and forcing residents to seek refuge on rooftops as flash flooding cut off entire communities in New South Wales, the country’s most populous state.

Emergency crews were stretched thin across the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions, where some areas received more than four months' worth of rain in just 24 hours.

"We have seen an enormous amount of rainfall," said Jihad Dib, New South Wales Emergency Services Minister. "The rain really has been falling quite heavily and quite hard, and it hasn't been moving away. The ground is saturated, and the rivers are swollen."

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology warned that up to 300 millimetres (12 inches) of rain could fall within the next 24 hours — nearly three times the monthly average for May.

In the flood-hit towns of Taree and Glenthorne, over 300 kilometers north of Sydney, dramatic scenes unfolded as residents were trapped on verandas and rooftops awaiting rescue. Emergency teams struggled overnight to access the areas due to rising waters and challenging conditions.

"We didn't expect this amount of water," said Glenthorne resident Jordan Halloran in an interview with ABC News. "Our neighbours will have to go onto the roof next, and if we're not rescued, I would say we will have to make our way to the roof as well."

Emergency Services Commissioner Mike Wassing said the priority was reaching the most vulnerable. “The current focus will be on people that are actually on roofs or, in other cases, might be on the second story of their home,” Wassing noted.

With rivers remaining at dangerous levels and more rain forecast, authorities continue to issue snap evacuation orders across flood-prone areas.

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