Severe weather hits N and E Australia

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The town of Bellingen on the mid-north coast of New South Wales is bracing itself for its worst floods since 2001, after wild weather in the region downed trees and powerlines last night.

The State Emergency Service (SES) says it is flat out responding to calls for help after storms around the Coffs Harbor region which damaged hundreds of homes in an area stretching south from Red Rock.

Bellingen has been isolated by rising floodwaters and the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting the Bellingen River will peak around eight meters by 3:00pm.

That is expected to cause flooding at the eastern end of the town and the SES is preparing an evacuation plan.
In nearby Kempsey, the SES has issued a flood warning for farmers. The Macleay River is rising steadily and there has been heavy rain in the catchments overnight.

Farmers are being warned to move pumps from the river.
In the Hastings area, there are strong winds and heavy rain. Rising floodwaters have blocked a number of low-lying roads in the Manning Valley.

Winds of more than 120 kilometers an hour brought down trees and powerlines last night.
Coffs Harbor Deputy Mayor Ian Hogbin has urged caution on local roads.
"One of the biggest issues is obviously to take a lot of care because there's timber on the roads, on the highways," he said.

"Council staff, along with RTA [the Roads and Traffic Authority] and State Emergency [Service] are trying to clear the debris but I think that'll take a significant amount of time."

Police spokeswoman Inspector Julie Boon says the Pacific Highway is now open.
"The Pacific Highway was cut intermittently in several locations throughout the night and the latest report that we have from the police up there is that the highway is open, but people will have to be very, very careful when negotiating the highway and other local roads," she said.

A tourist attraction and four houses in the New South Wales mid-north coast town of Bellingen have been evacuated as floodwaters continue to rise.

The Bellinger River is expected to peak to a height of 8.2 meters by 3:00pm (AEST), leaving the town isolated.
The State Emergency Service spokesman for the Clarence-Nambucca Division, Michael Stubbs, says the river height is being closely monitored.

"We've evacuated 10 shops in an area from the Old Butter Factory which is a tourist area," he said.
"Also four houses in that area where the people have been evacuated as well.
"Other areas that we've undertaken relocation and evacuation is the Repton Caravan Park down at Urunga as well."
Meanwhile, Emergency Services Minister Tony Kelly will visit Coffs Harbor this afternoon to inspect damage.
Hundreds of houses were damaged and there were widespread power blackouts, when wild winds and torrential rain brought down tress and power lines after midnight.

The Minister will meet with State Emergency Service volunteers and make an announcement about natural disaster funding for the area.

Heavy rain is continuing to fall across the Coffs Harbor area.
A record downpour in the Tweed Heads region of northern NSW yesterday created storm history.
Mike Rayner from Tweed Shire Council says more than 120 millimeters fell on the South Tweed and Banora Point area in just over an hour.

Mr Rayner says the heavy fall stopped traffic, but the flooding did not impact on houses.
"Certainly people couldn't get in and out of the South Tweed Heads area, the off-ramp from [the] bypass was underwater," he said.

"Parts of Rivendell, Leisure Drive at Banora Point, much of that was underwater, so I think most people sort of pushed through and got themselves to work but in those extreme events the road corridors are designed to carry what we call the overland flow."

Weather forecasters are predicting more storms in the Mackay region of north Queensland later today, but not as productive as those that hit the region yesterday.

Some areas reported hail during yesterday's deluge, which saw falls as high as 60 millimeters in Proserpine, Calen and parts of the Pioneer Valley.

There were no major reports of damage, but nearly 5,000 homes lost power from lightning strikes.
Weather forecaster Craig Hall says the storms should clear by tonight, with fine and warmer weather by the weekend.
The New South Wales mid-north coast towns of Coffs Harbor and Bellingen have been declared natural disaster areas following wild storms overnight.

The Bellinger River peaked at 8.1 meters at 2:00pm (AEST) this afternoon and is now falling, with moderate flooding.
The Weather Bureau says heavy rainfall is still possible over the next 12 to 24 hours which could cause the river to rise again.

Bellingen remains isolated and school children who go to schools in Coffs Harbor have been taken to an evacuation centre 15 kilometers east of Bellingen.

As the Bellinger River rose, 10 tourist shops in the town's historic Butter Factory and four houses were evacuated.
A caravan park downstream of Bellingen at Urunga was also evacuated as a precaution.
Meanwhile thousands of residents north of Coffs Harbor will be without power tonight after high winds brought down trees and powerlines.

Power workers are being brought in as far away as Bathurst to help restore supplies.
Laura Gooden, from the State Emergency Services, says most of the 600 calls for help received so far have come from Coffs Harbor and Bellingen.

She says there are also flood warnings for the Orara, Nambucca and Hastings Rivers.
"Although we are monitoring a number of rivers up and down the mid-north coast, none of which at this point is predicted to experience major flooding, we are monitoring weather conditions and river heights very closely, because there's still more rain falling in the area," she said.