SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday (May 24) the clean-up had begun in the country’s southeast after floods killed five people and inundated more than 10,000 properties.
“We’re continuing to work closely across federal, state and local governments to make sure Australians get the support they need now and through recovery,” Albanese said on social media platform X.
Damage assessments were underway in New South Wales’ hard-hit mid-north coast region after floods this week cut off towns, swept away livestock and destroyed homes, the state’s emergency services agency said. It estimated that at least 10,000 properties may have been damaged.
Conditions had improved since Friday in the affected areas of Australia’s most populous state, the agency said.
Even so, hundreds of flood-hit residents were still in evacuation centres, State Emergency Services commissioner Mike Wassing said at a media conference in Sydney, with 52 flood rescues being made overnight.
The latest flood-linked death was that of a man in his 80s, whose body was found at a flooded property about 50km from Taree, one of the worst-hit towns, police said.
