The news comes as locals brace themselves for another 40-50mm of rain later in the week, which could cause further damage. A major flood warning is still in place for the Lachlan River, which peaked overnight at 10.67m, slightly higher than the area’s last major flood event in August 1990. The river is expected to stay elevated for several days. Premier Mike Baird visited Forbes today with Minister for Emergency Services David Elliot and praised the “resilient” community. “They’ve seen floods before. They know it can be difficult but they are determined to help each other get through it,” he said. “ “In terms of the briefings we had, it’s clear there is more rain coming. That’s obviously bad news. It’s not clear whether there will significant additional rising but there certainly is a risk of more rising water. That is something we need to be prepared for on the ground here,” he said. He said the event would likely be classified a natural disaster which would unlock additional funding assistance for those affected. “We’ve announced Dave Owens as co-ordinator for the recovery and clearly we’ve still got a few days to get through yet. But clearly as recovery goes through we will ask him specifically to look at how insurers are operating and working with the local community,” said Mr Baird. The Insurance Council of Australia CEO Rob Whelan said the insurance industry has escalated its response to help policyholders in Forbes and the central-west. “Early reports indicate the region has suffered extensive crop losses, while about 100 businesses and homes may also have been affected by flooding,” Mr Whelan said. “It’s likely that insurance losses will be in the tens of millions of dollars. However, it will take several weeks for the full extent of the losses to be known. He said it is yet to be determined how many farmers had purchased policies which covered damage to crops, but advised that insurers will use independent hydrologists to determine if the losses “can be covered under other provisions of their policies” The SES continue to stress the floodwaters are behaving differently to those that have affected the town in the past, and have advised locals to keep their eye on the weather as conditions change. Forbes locals say the water normally flows through town, dividing it in two, but this event has seen floodwaters flow into areas previously thought safe. Condoblin and surrounding areas are set to be the next hit by floodwaters, with the river at the small town expected to peak around Friday at 7.3m, which is classified as major flooding. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="650"] Jo Rugg and Matt Robb resort to their dinghy for transport along the Lachlan Valley Way in Forbes. Picture: Ryan Osland[/caption] Years to recover from floods Farmers and homeowners across central western NSW fear it will take them years to recover from devastating floods that have swept the region, with further rains expected within days and emergency services preparing to remain in place for weeks. Hundreds of people living in and around the towns of Forbes and Condobolin have already been forced from their homes by the rising water, and hundreds more residents could be evac­uated in the coming days. More than 100 properties in the towns have been damaged, and millions of dollars worth of crops may have been ruined. With NSW Premier Mike Baird due to visit Forbes today to assess the damage, the State Emergency Service yesterday said it had performed 96 rescues, and would need to continue its operations in the area until ­November. About 230 emergency services personnel have so far been ­deployed to Forbes, population 8000, with the SES organising resupply operations for those in ­isolated farms and other properties after floodwaters cut across several roads within the Lachlan River catchment. The army has also sent five high-clearance trucks and soldiers from the 5th Brigade to help those trapped. Locals Jo Rugg and Matt Robb got out the dinghy, cracked a couple of beers, and drifted down the street as they tried to put a positive spin on the situation. “There’s not much you can do about it so you just have to go with it,” Ms Rugg said. The couple said Defence Force members from Sydney had brought army trucks to their street and had helped their neighbours move possessions. While many farmers have been unable even to begin assessing the damage done to stocks and crops, local resident Gavin Montgomery said it would take years for those who live here to recover. “There are people who have lost entire crops. These people have lost so much, and they are farmers who have been here a long time,” he said. “They’ve invested money to get land ready for the summer crops. There is a window for planting things like cotton, it has to be planted by early October but now they won’t be able to get tractors and machinery on the land.” The rising waters, which in Forbes yesterday exceeded the 10.65m level reached in the 1990 floods when 132 properties were swamped, have also proved difficult to predict. “It depends on what happens with the rainfall and how it impacts on the river system,” SES spokeswoman Sue Pritchard said. “We are rostering our people across for next month or so, the state is so saturated, and dams are all full.” Brie Roylance, a mother of three whose family abandoned their shop in the town centre on Saturday night, said it would take months before they were back on their feet. “Many of our customers are from the farming community so while the town might be OK, lots of farmers can’t get on with their crops,’’ Ms Roylance, who runs a local mechanic workshop, said. “It’s a domino effect when you are in business especially. Local snake catcher Paul Newcombe spent yesterday responding to calls from the community. “(The snakes) have been pretty subdued, they are on the edge of floodwater, tied up in a fence, wrapped around a tree. I just pull them off a tree and find somewhere dry and let them go,” he said after pulling a red-bellied black snake from floodwaters. He hasn’t let people pay him for him services this week. “I’m just helping out. We all pull ­together here,” Mr Newcombe said. The owners of more than 100 properties at Ungarie, about 140km southwest of Forbes, have also been ordered to leave. A further evacuation warning has been issued for 20 properties in Condobolin, about 100km west from Forbes along the Lachlan River.

Source - http://www.theaustralian.com.au