SYDNEY, Australia -
Thousands of people on Australia's east coast
were cut off by floodwater today, with the heavy rain claiming two
lives as extreme thunderstorms damaged homes and brought down trees in
Sydney.
State Emergency Services said the Macleay River
peaked lower than had been forecast in the northern New South Wales town
of Kempsey, 350 kilometres north of Sydney, and the 
town appeared to
have escaped major flooding.
town appeared to
have escaped major flooding.
But the north coast region,
including the towns of Port Macquarie and Taree, remained under close
watch along with the Hawkesbury-Nepean area west of Sydney.
The
SES said it had undertaken 66 flood rescues, including from stranded
cars, and Prime Minister Julia Gillard urged the public to avoid the
floodwaters if possible.
"Water is a dangerous thing. Deceptively
dangerous. Even very low levels of water, if it's fast moving, can
sweep people away," she said.
A 17-year-old boy was swept into a
drainpipe on Friday as he stood in waist-high water in Kew, near Port
Macquarie, to collect golf balls.
Yesterday the body of a man was
found in his submerged car on a road about 20 kilometres northwest of
Grafton, also on the New South Wales north coast.
Intense storms
bringing high winds and heavy rain also tore through eastern Sydney and
other areas overnight, ripping off roofs and bringing down trees.
The
latest deluge comes just weeks after torrential rains in the wake of
tropical cyclone Oswald flooded parts of Queensland and neighbouring New
South Wales.
Source: Agency
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