SYDNEY: Helicopters were airdropping animal feed on Sunday (May 25) to farmers in Australia stranded by floods that have killed five and isolated tens of thousands in the country’s southeast.
Recovery was underway in the mid-north coast region of Australia’s most populous state after days of flooding cut off towns, swept away livestock and destroyed homes. At least 10,000 properties may have been damaged in the floods, which were sparked by days of incessant rain, authorities estimate.
The floodwaters “trashed” Dan Patch’s house in rural Ghinni Ghinni near hard-hit Taree, and some cattle on the property have gone without food for days, he said.
“It’s the worst we’ve ever seen,” Patch told Reuters. “It’s the worst everybody’s seen around this area.”
About 32,000 residents remained isolated due to floodwaters, which were slowly starting to recede, the state’s Emergency Services posted on the X platform.
“The New South Wales government is providing emergency fodder, veterinary care, management advice and aerial support for isolated stock,” state Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said in a statement.
It said 43 helicopter drops and around 130 drops by other means had provided “isolated farmers with emergency fodder for their stranded livestock”.
