SYDNEY (Reuters) -The body of a man was found in a car trapped in floodwaters in Australia’s southeast on Friday, raising the death toll to four, after three days of incessant rain cut off entire towns, swept away livestock and destroyed homes.
Police said the man was found near Coffs Harbour, around 550 km (342 miles) north of Sydney. The search continued for a person missing since the deluge began early this week.
Around 50,000 people are still isolated, emergency services personnel said, as they look to ramp up efforts to supply essential supplies after weather conditions eased.
But authorities warned residents returning to their flooded homes to watch out for dangers.
“If your home or premise has been inundated, floodwaters have contaminants. There can be vermin, snakes … So you need to assess those risks. Electricity can also pose a danger as well,” state Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner Damien Johnston told reporters.
Television videos showed submerged intersections and street signs, cars up to their windshields in water, after fast-rising waters burst river banks and flooded several rural towns in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state.
Debris from the floods, and dead and lost livestock, have washed up on the coast.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would visit the flood-hit towns on Friday.
“It’s pretty horrific, the conditions … this is a really serious situation,” Albanese told radio station Triple M Newcastle.
More than 100 schools remained closed on Friday, while thousands of properties were without power. Rivers would stay above danger levels for several days, authorities said.
A wild weather system that dumped around four months of rain over three days shifted south towards Sydney on Thursday, though the weather bureau, in its latest update, said it is expected to ease by Friday evening.
Warragamba Dam, which supplies 80% of Sydney’s water supply and is currently at around 96% of capacity, could spill over soon after heavy rain overnight, officials said.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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