An entire family had to be saved from the roof of their home in a dramatic helicopter rescue as surging flood waters surrounded them.
The family was plucked from their rooftop after scrambling up a ladder to safety just as their property, located south of Ballina, began to disappear into the murky waters.
Ballina, which has had 423mm of rain in the past seven days, including almost 200m on Monday, remains isolated by flash flooding after the Richmond river burst its banks.
The rain bomb that battered south-east Queensland and north-east NSW was hitting Sydney on Wednesday night with up to 200mm of rain predicted.
An entire Australian family had to be saved from the roof of their home in a dramatic helicopter rescue as surging flood waters surrounded them
Ballina’s mayor, Sharon Cadwallader, called it a ‘one-in-a-1000-year’ flood as it was reported 6,000 out of the region’s 20,000 homes were flooded.
The daredevil rescue by the LifeFlight helicopter crew happened on Wednesday morning as flood waters cut off hundreds of properties on the NSW north coast and conditons worsened as flood waters continued to rise.
LifeFlight’s aeromedical team spotted the family from the rescue helicopter while patrolling the area, where it has been busy conducting rescues from floodwaters.
The crew decided to winch the team paramedic and a rescue basket down to the rooftop to haul the family out of danger.
In stunning footage, shot from the helicopter, the crew spotted the family huddled on their rooftop and dropped closer to investigate.
The relieved father gave the crew his thumbs up and pointed to his exhausted family.
The team’s paramedic was winched down with a rescue basket. First the family’s two daughters are winched to safety, followed by the mother and young son and lastly dad.
Rescues have been conducted by any means possible including kayak, tinny and even jet skis on the east coast and several helicopter crews have been kept busy.
Stunning footage shot from the chopper showed the crew winching the family out of danger in a rescue basket
The crew spotted the family huddled on their rooftop and dropped closer to investigate. The exhausted father gave the crew the ‘thumbs-up’ to collect his family
As conditions worsened, Ms Cadwallader called on the Australian Defence Force to save the town.
The town’s access to internet and phone networks was limited and with a high tide due on Wednesday night and further rain forecast the situation for many residents was dire.
Ballina Island in the town centre was evacuated with flooding expected to rise by a further half a metre on Wednesday evening.
While the heavy rains that flooded northern NSW have slowed, the area is cut off by flooded highways to the north and south
Ballina which has had 423mm of rain in the past seven days, including almost 200m on Monday, remains isolated by flash flooding after the Richmond river burst its banks
Nearby Lismore has been one of the worst-hit towns of the flood emergency which has resulted in 12 deaths across eastern Australia and seen dozens of towns inundated by floodwaters.
Three died in Lismore and nine in Queensland.
In the worst hit areas, vehicles have been entirely submerged as two storey houses appeared covered up to the second floor and frightened survivors waited for help on the rooves.
Ballina’s mayor, Sharon Cadwallader, called it a ‘one-in-a-1000-year’ flood as it was reported 6,000 out of the region’s 20,000 homes were flooded
Earlier in the day, the LifeFlight helicopter crew was retrieve another man nearby, aged in his sixties, who had fallen over and fractured his ribs.
He was in a remote and difficult to access location, cut off by floods, so it was decided he would be transported by boat and meet the chopper crew, who had landed safely on a stretch of highway near Woodburn.
Volunteers helped transfer the man from the boat to the helicopter, by wheeling him up the road on an office chair.
He was assessed by the LifeFlight flight paramedic before he was flown to hospital for further treatment.
While the heavy rains that flooded northern NSW have slowed, the area is cut off by flooded highways to the north and south.
Some supermarkets have even introduced rationing as supply truck cannot get in.
Ballina Island in the town centre was evacuated with flooding expected to rise by a further half a metre on Wednesday evening
While the heavy rains that flooded northern NSW have slowed, the area is cut off by flooded highways to the north and south
