Children rescued after NSW flooding

A total of 52 children at a childcare centre in southern NSW have been evacuated
because of concerns the building could be flooded amid wild weather in the region.
The children and 10 staff at the Lake Albert childcare centre were evacuated by fire
crews about 1615 AEST on Friday.
"Fire crew assisted in the evacuation of children to the nearby Koringal Public
School," a spokesman for NSW Fire Brigades told AAP.
Earlier on Friday, 54 children at a scout camp near Deniliquin were rescued by
police and State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers after flooding left them
stranded.
SES spokesman Phil Campbell said the 54 children at the `Four Post' scout camp in
the state's south had to be ferried to safety after heavy flooding had washed out
stormwater drains.
"The children were at the camp and were isolated by two culverts (drains) which have
been washed out," Mr Campbell said.
"The SES and police used high-clearance four-wheel drives to remove the children
from the site and bring them to safety," he said, adding several dogs were rescued
at the same time.
Mr Campbell said the SES had received 306 requests for assistance from across the
state due to wet and windy weather.
It had performed 12 flood rescues in the past 24 hours, mainly involving vehicles
stuck in flooding.
Sixty people were evacuated from their homes and roads were closed in the Riverina
town of Lockhart.
Three people were also being rescued on the roof of a truck in Lockhart.
Meanwhile, falling trees cut powerlines in the Sydney suburbs of Wentworthville,
Holroyd, Telopea, St Marys, Mt Druitt, Northmead, Turramurra and Vaucluse.
There were no injuries so far, the fire brigade said.
The Bureau of Meteorology on Friday issued a wind and flash flood warning for the
Hunter, ACT, Upper Western, Northern Tablelands, Riverina, Illawarra, Central West
Slopes and Plains, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains, North West Slopes and Plains,
Lower Western, Southern Tablelands and Central Tablelands.
Winds averaging 50km/h, with peak gusts around 110km/h are forecast for all those
districts, as well as heavy rain that may lead to flash flooding.
Wind gusts over 90km/h have already been recorded at Cabramurra in the Snowy
Mountains and at Murrurundi in the upper Hunter Valley.
Bureau of Meteorology spokeswoman Julie Evans said the front was moving rapidly
across central western areas of NSW on Friday afternoon and was expected to clear
the state by Saturday morning.
It had brought rain to most areas, heaviest in the Riverina and southwest slopes,
she told AAP.



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