Mayor urges people to avoid floodwaters with emergency warnings in place for northern New South Wales

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Gunnedah Shire Mayor Colleen Fuller says she's most concerned about people entering dangerous floodwaters.

Transcript

00:00It got to 7.6, I believe, this morning, and it has peaked around the lower line of Conadurley

00:10Street, back to Bloomfield Street area. That area is still underwater, well and truly underwater

00:19down there, and several roads are cut.

00:23And can you describe, I mean, a bit more about that current situation there and the warnings

00:27in place?

00:28The warnings were put into place yesterday from about lunchtime on. All warnings were

00:34done then and continue to do so. Now, if anybody needs assistance, Salvation Army office is closed

00:42because they're in a flood area and they will be working as well, so contact them on their

00:48phones. Also, PCYC is open for emergencies for people to go there to have assistance. I also

00:57know that Gunya are open as well and having people to assist down there. So if people

01:05need help food-wise, please go there. Meals on Wheels is open and working as well.

01:10What's your biggest concern at the moment?

01:14The biggest concern is people not staying away from the floodwater. Even as an hour ago, there

01:22were kids in floodwater down there. It is dangerous. And we continually ask for people to stay out

01:28of the floodwater. The lower end of Warren Bungle Street and Conadurley, people driving through there,

01:36their houses in that area that are being flooded. And they're continuously putting water back on those

01:42homes. So if you don't have to use that area, please don't use it. It's very unfair when people

01:47are flooded in.

01:48Councillor Fuller, I know you mentioned Meals on Wheels just a moment ago. How are you ensuring

01:52that the most vulnerable are looked after in this?

01:55Well, Meals on Wheels continue to do that. Their office is open in the Main Street and they'll

02:01continue to provide meals where possible or where needed. Their people are all serviced today,

02:07I believe. They've been in the office early and will be serviced today. So any extras that are needed

02:13have been done. I actually had food out to SES yesterday, to their department out there to look

02:22after them and assist them because being Sunday, a lot of places weren't open. So I was able to get

02:28hold of food for them and cater out there for them as well. And as well as our staff at council,

02:35who did a wonderful job on their night shifts out last night, I was able to go out to them as well.

02:40Yeah, it would have been a very busy night. What's the power and phone service situation

02:45at the moment?

02:46Power is good. We don't have any problem, I believe, according to SES this morning.

02:51There is no power problems. The only thing, probably some phones are having a lot of problems

02:57as well. I believe out in the Emerald Hill service area out there, they were struggling yesterday

03:03afternoon with phones out that way. Now, obviously schools in the area, there's also TAFE,

03:10the University of New England's regional study centre there. How are they all being affected

03:14by this?

03:16I believe that South School's open today. St Mary's is closed today because they're down

03:22on the lower end. And so St Mary's and St Saviour's are closed today. But I do know South School's

03:29open. It looked like the high school was open as I came by as well, because there were cars

03:34and people and kids going into school there.

03:37Yeah, that's some good news. And of course, the flooding peaking there. So what do we know

03:41about the outlook and when the threat will be over?

03:46Well, at this stage, we can't assume anything at this stage, anything we're going through live

03:52traffic and also the SES. So they've been giving up regular updates to us, haven't had one that

03:58I know of this morning. But I do believe that they were peaking according to SES at nine o'clock

04:06this morning.

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