Australians rescued off rooftops amid deadly floods

Rising floodwaters stranded more than 50,000 people in eastern Australia on Thursday, as torrential rain pummelled water-logged towns for a second day and engorged rivers swallowed roads, leaving two dead.

Police have pulled two bodies from floodwaters on the Mid North Coast, a river-braided region of rugged hills and fertile valleys about 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Sydney.

Authorities launched a major search and rescue mission as people clambered atop cars, houses and highway bridges to escape the tide of muddy water.

The government weather bureau said the storms had dumped more than half a year’s worth of rain over just three days in some areas.

“I must also say that we’re bracing for more bad news in the next 24 hours. This natural disaster has been terrible for this community,” New South Wales (NSW) state premier Chris Minns told reporters on Thursday.

Mayor Kinne Ring told AFP that Kempsey—a farming hub on the banks of the Macleay River—had been cut off with little warning.

“You often think of rain on the tin roof as relaxing, but at the moment, it is deafening and horrible,” Ring said. The downpours are torrential, and you wonder what will happen next every time it rains. Ring said more than 20,000 people were isolated in her local government area alone.