On Sunday night,the Australian Defence Force sent a helicopter to Molong,near Orange,after NSW SES officers were unable to access the town due to the heavy flooding.
Residents had already been told the town had officially been isolated by floodwater,and it was too dangerous to evacuate.
On Monday,footage of the flooding event in Molong circulated across social media,showing the town’s central business district underwater with various objects floating down the main street.
Speaking onBen Fordham Live on Sydney radio station 2GB on Monday morning,the region’s mayor Kevin Beatty said Molong’s major highway – the Mitchell Highway – was left underwater on Sunday with a large object blocking its path.
“I don’t what it is,” he said.
“There’s either a big caravan or big shipping container sitting right on the highway on the bend in the middle of town.”
For many in Molong,the floodsecho a similar event that hit the town in November 2005,when more than 150 millimetres of rain fell in the region and the town,prompting the awarding of a $50,000 grant from then-prime minister John Howard.
Jade Gavin,owner of Bella Hair Studio,located on the town’s main shopping strip,said the mood in Molong on Monday morning was sad.
Gavin and her husband went to the salon at 7.30am on Monday to inspect the damage and arrived to find mud on the walls and all of the furniture ruined.
“I just bought the business in June,so it was just a bit of a shock;everyone was in shock,” she said.
“I just didn’t think it would be this bad.”
Over the course of the event in Molong,multiple people were rescued after being trapped in floodwater and swept away in their cars.
In Woodstock,near Cowra,the NSW SES said rescues were made for six vehicles in floodwater after a bridge washed away on George Russell Drive.
A person who was trapped in his vehicle was also rescued in Alectown just before 4am.
Low-lying residents in Canowindra – between Orange and Cowra – have also been urged to evacuate immediately due to high river levels and dangerous flash flooding.
In Albury,two children had a lucky escape and were rescued after playing in a stormwater drain.
In the past 24 hours,the NSW SES has responded to 33 flood rescues and 462 requests for assistance.
The Bureau of Meteorology cancelled the severe weather warning in place for the Central Tablelands just before 5am on Monday as the rain subsided.
“Severe weather is no longer occurring in NSW and the ACT,” the cancellation said.
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