Flooding in Australia leaves four dead and entire towns underwater

Flooding in Maitland,New South Wales,Australia (Picture: AAP)

Four people have died and whole towns have been left submerged in water after flooding struck New South Wales in Australia.

A deluge of rain over the past few days has caused severe flooding along the coast north of Sydney.

Four bodies have been retrieved since Wednesday. Three of the victims had driven into floodwater,while a fourth was discovered on the veranda of his flooded home.

The latest victim was a man in his 70s whose body was found in a car in floodwater near Coffs Harbour on Friday,a police statement said. The car had run off the road.

A 49-year-old man,meanwhile,is currently missing after walking near a flooded road in the the Northern Rivers region of the state on Wednesday night.

Around 50,000 people have been left isolated by the flooding,with some areas seeing the highest water levels on record.

Birdseye images show homes surrounded by several feet of water.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Christopher Minns visited devastated communities on Friday.

A man navigates floodwaters in a boat in Maitland (Picture: AAPIMAGE)

A resident receives some supplies in Port Macquarie (Picture: EPA)

Minns praised emergency services and volunteers for rescuing 678 peoplein recent days.

‘It’s an amazing,heroic logistical effort where,in very difficult circumstances,many volunteers put themselves in harm’s way to rescue a complete stranger. And over the coming days and weeks,we will hear scores of stories of locals being plucked out of impossible,desperate situations,’ Minns told reporters in Maitland,one of the areas affected.

‘Without the volunteers,we would have had hundreds of deaths and we’re in deep,deep gratitude to those people who volunteered their time.’

Rain has now eased,but state emergency service commissioner Mike Wassing said crews were still on alert due to water continuing to flow into catchments.

Emergency workers wade through floodwaters near Taree on Thursday (Picture: AP)

Areas of flooding in New South Wales (Picture: Yvette Kelly)

‘We still do have active flood rescues still coming into the system and we’re dealing with those on a case-by-case basis’,Wassing said. ‘We have seen that tempo drop off,and that’s a good thing.’

Bellingen shire council mayor Steve Allan said landslides and damaged roads and bridges in his region,southwest of Coffs Harbour,were making it difficult to reach isolated rural communities.

But he added that rivers were thankfully now receding.