More floods forecast in N.S.W.

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32524, 6 February 1971, Page 15

More floods forecast in N.S.W.

(N.Z. Press Assn. —Copyrioht) SYDNEY, February 5. A smell of death hung over north-western New South Wales today as the bodies of thousands of sheep and cattle lay in slowly subsiding floodwaters. Many of the dead animals have been washed into flooded towns, adding to the threat of disease.

Today was fine and sunny in the stricken towns of Wee Waa, Narrabri and Moree, but the Weather Bureau in Sydney has warned of a new threat of flooding. Heavy rain has fallen in Western Queensland, and water in border rivers is rising. This flood crest is expected to reach the present disaster area in 10 to 14 days.

At Wee Waa, where 280 people were evacuated by air yesterday, the flood was receding today, although movement in the streets was still possible only by boat or tractor. Food was being flown in by helicopter. The Namoi River was also dropping at Narrabri, and evacuees were beginning to return to their homes. The immediate flood threat in New South Wales has now switched to the south coast, where up to three inches of rain fell overnight The Weather Bureau expects rapid rises in coastal I streams around Nowra, 100 ■ miles south of Sydney; more 'heavy rain is forecast today.