He said as the ground and water catchment areas were saturated there was an increased risk of flash flooding. Mr Nash advised people to use the coming days to ensure their gutters and drains were clear, while those living near recently flooded rivers should ensure their evacuation plans were up-to-date and kits were ready to go if required.
The weather concerns come as nine Lismore residents dumped flood-affected household items outside Kirribilli House and called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to act on climate change.
The residents took a truck to the Prime Minister’s Sydney residence and dumped items including flood-ruined carpet, toys and furniture outside the front gate on Monday morning.
Protester Kate Stroud dumped her flood-ruined belongings on the Prime Minister’s door this morning.Credit:Edwina Pickles
Lismore’s Kate Stroud said the group felt compelled to demonstrate after Mr Morrison failed to speak to some residents while visiting the flood-ravaged town earlier this month.
Ms Stroud lost her home in the floods and said she sheltered in her roof for six hours before being rescued by another resident on a jet-ski.
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“Everybody that I know has lost their homes, they’ve lost their businesses. We have basically lost our entire town,” Ms Stroud said. “We tried to have this conversation with him face to face in Lismore, but he slipped through the back door of our council chambers. If our leaders can’t come to at least sit at a table with us and chat to us at times of devastation, what are they doing?”
The floods have left 10,300 damaged buildings, of which 4000 are not habitable, data from Resilience NSW shows. In the Northern Rivers region, which includes the Tweed, Lismore, Ballina areas, 3580 buildings are uninhabitable.
Two of the state’s former top public servants, former police commissioner Mick Fuller and one-time chief scientist Professor Mary O’Kane, have been picked to lead an investigation into the causes of the recent deadly floods, the emergency response and the future of building on floodplains.
The inquiry will examine the preparedness of NSW to deal with major flooding events, while considering gaps in the emergency response.
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