Australia: Emergency search launched for woman swept away in floodwater

Sydney, Aug 3 An emergency search is underway for a woman who was swept away in floodwater north of Sydney.

Police in the state of New South Wales (NSW) said on Sunday that the woman believed to be in her 20s was one of the two people in a car that became stuck while attempting to drive through floodwater near the town of Rothbury, 130 km north of Sydney, at around 7:50 p.m. local time on Saturday.

Both occupants were attempting to exit the vehicle when the female passenger was swept away. The driver, a second woman aged 27, was uninjured.

An emergency search commenced but was suspended overnight before resuming on Sunday morning.

During the initial search on Saturday night, crews from the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) located a 40-year-old man stuck in a nearby tree after he also became trapped in floodwater, reports Xinhua news agency.

The man was swept from the tree but was eventually rescued and taken to the hospital for assessment.

The NSW SES responded to over 1,400 calls for assistance amid heavy rain, wind and snow that hit the Hunter, Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast regions north of Sydney on Saturday.

In a severe weather warning issued at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, the Bureau of Meteorology said that damaging winds were expected to ease by early afternoon.

More than 27,500 homes in New South Wales were without power because of damage from heavy rain, strong winds and snowfall, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Saturday evening.

ABC quoted local power provider Essential Energy as saying that impacted customers should prepare for the power outages to continue overnight, because though its crews were working to restore power "where it is safe to do so," severe weather would cause delays.

The NSW SES said on its website that moderate to heavy rainfall was forecast to persist in the Coffs Coast, Mid North Coast, Upper Hunter and New England regions in the state Saturday afternoon, and it had issued 28 warnings about storms, and predicted minor flooding, as well as possible moderate flooding.

Nicole Hogan, assistant commissioner of NSW SES, said that heavy and persistent rainfall could cause roads to become flooded and impassable.

ABC also reported that snow had never been seen at these depths in the Northern Tablelands, and there were reports of up to 200 vehicles stuck in heavy snowfall.

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