A month ago, the state was celebrating the end of its worst drought on record. By the end of this week, after nine years of dry, half of it could be flooded.
The Premier, Kristina Keneally, who will visit parts of the sprawling flood zone today, said it was too early to speculate on the damage but up to $500 million had been wiped from the value of crops. ''That of course comes as a great blow to our farmers.''
NSW is bracing for more storms on Wednesday, which will drop up to 100 millimetres of rain over areas that are already inundated. The floods, which stretch from Victoria to Queensland, are expected only to worsen.
''When you see a map that says all these valleys are in flood - and I'm looking at one now - normally everything is brown,'' Hugh Bruist, a senior hydrologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said yesterday.
''But what we're looking at - 50 per cent of the state is in flood. Much of the state is wet and any further rain will run off the ground rather than being absorbed into the ground.''
The Minister for Emergency Services, Steve Whan, was to announce $1 million today for the removal of trees and other debris after the floods in south-western NSW in October. He will make the announcement while visiting the same disaster areas with the federal Attorney-General, Robert McClelland.
Flood gates are open outside Tumut and Bathurst. The army has been deployed in Wagga Wagga, where the homes of three families who refused to leave are expected to be flooded this afternoon. The levee at Coonamble is threatening to burst under the weight of flood waters, after 1200 residents were ordered to leave.
Flood warnings have been issued for 12 rivers. Natural disasters have been declared in the Dubbo, Weddin, Wellington, Warrumbungle, Harden, Cootamundra, Coonamble, Gundagai, Cabonne and Young shires.
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