Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trapped Sydney driver becomes first flood disaster fatality

A motorist trapped in a car in Sydney has became the first casualty of the Australian east coast floods

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 24 March 2021 02:08 EDT
APTOPIX Australia Floods
APTOPIX Australia Floods

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A motorist trapped in a car in Sydney on Wednesday became the first fatality of the Australian east coast floods.

The car was trapped in floodwater in northwest Sydney at dawn and emergency services recovered the car with a body inside early afternoon, officials said. The body has yet to be formally identified.

While rain has eased across New South Wales state, the flooding emergency continued with rising river levels.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed the Parliament’s condolences to the family of the man who died at Glenorie. Morrison said his own policeman father had taken their family camping near Glenorie every Easter.

Morrison reflected on the state’s recent struggles. Years of drought across most of the state culminated in catastrophic wildfires last Southern Hemisphere summer. The fires were followed by the pandemic and now record floods.

“This is a terribly sad day for that family,” Morrison told Parliament “We have seen so much over the course of the past year and more as this country has battled so many things -- floods, fires, viruses, drought and now these floods again.”

Emergency services have made hundreds of rescues since the flood emergency in Australia’s most populous state began last week.

A flotilla of boats was delivering crucial supplies to isolated communities on the flooded Hawkesbury River northwest of Sydney and ferrying stranded residents to safety.

Morrison took a flight over the Hawkesbury to survey the damage early Wednesday.

“The expanse of water that went right across that region was quite devastating to see and to see the homes, only their roofs and those of out sheds,” Morrison said.

Cabinet Minister Peter Dutton said more than 700 defense personnel would soon be deployed as the floods recede to help people return to their homes and businesses as quickly as possible.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in