Queensland’s flood death toll has risen to 11 after police divers recovered the body of a woman in waters at the Gold Coast this morning.
The 42-year-old woman from Mudgeeraba was reported missing on Tuesday.
She was last seen travelling in a vehicle near Bonogin Creek on February 27.
Police air crew and dive squad officers were searching floodwaters in the area.
Forensic examination will be needed to confirm the woman’s identity and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.
NSW flood recovery amid more wet weather
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is urging people still under evacuation orders in flood-hit areas to follow the instructions of emergency services authorities.
“Please continue to follow those instructions of the SES. They’re there to keep you, your friends and your family safe, and that’s incredibly important as we move through this difficult time,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We can’t be complacent. There are still challenging weather forecasts that lie ahead.”
The soon to be sworn in NSW Flood Recovery Minister Steph Cook is in Lismore and says the scale of the flood damage is “unbelievable”.
“There’s no doubt we’ve got a long road in front of us,” Ms Cook said.
“I’ll be leading a multi-agency response to ensure that this recovery goes as quickly and as smoothly for people as it possibly can.”
“I want to acknowledge how much people are enduring at the moment… It’s indescribable. There’s a lot of people who are feeling shock still. There’s people that are understandably really angry. There’s people who are grieving already.”
Water in Wisemans Ferry, on the outskirts of Sydney, has receded but there is still a lot underwater, including the local golf club and tennis courts.
Up to 100mm could fall in some areas at around 3pm, and if that happens the full and fast-moving rivers will rise again and some of those homes which have already been flooded once could go under again.
Thunderstorms are possible across most of eastern NSW, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.
Suburbs along the Nepean and Hawkesbury Rivers will remain on flood watch into tomorrow, and there is a hazardous surf warning stretching from Byron in the north to Eden near the Victorian border.
In northern NSW, flood-affected communities are begging the government for more support.
There are still people and properties that are inaccessible by road, and essential supplies such as fuel, food, and medication is scarce.
More ADF personnel being sent to NSW
Ms Cook says she is asking for as much ADF assistance as possible to help flood recovery efforts in the state.
It was announced this morning that an additional 900 ADF personnel will roll out across flood-hit areas of NSW tomorrow.
Ms Cook said the availability of ADF personnel to assist has increased from 2000 to 5000.
“We asked for everything they could give us. Today they’ve increased that offer to 5000 and we’ve said we’ll take every one of those as well,” Ms Cook said.
“So far, starting from tomorrow, they’ve offered us 900. We’ll start to see those roll out and we’re very grateful for that, but we’re really hoping that that does ramp up closer to that 5000 mark really quickly, and we would really welcome that.”
In Queensland, the Mud Army 2.0 has mobilised after nearly 15,000 volunteers signed up.
Epic clean-up begins in flooded Queensland and NSW
They are currently going through a registration process and will then get on buses and be deployed throughout the region.
