The Indigenous community of Cabbage Tree Island on the New South Wales far-North coast has been evacuated, hours after it was announced that disaster assistance has been extended for those affected across southeast Queensland.
The flood emergency continues to wreak havoc for residents of Northern NSW and QLD.
The major flooding is responsible for dangerous conditions from Hervey Bay to the Gold Coast, and west to Toowoomba, with 17 local government areas being activated for disaster assistance to help with the damages.
Among those impacted is the Indigenous news platform Koori Mail, which acts as a major news source for the First Nations population.
General Manager of Koori Mail, Naomi Moran told NITV News that the floods had "inundated" the town and community, with the Mail's headquarters being hit "severely".
"The Lismore region of the far north coast has been hit with a once in a 100 year flood," she said.
The waters have already exceeded the levels seen in the 1954 and 2017 floods, and are still rising.
"So we're expecting this region to hit quite severely this time around, and it's absolutely devastating, it's such a tragedy already," Ms Moran said.
A street in Lismore is inundated, with flood waters still expected to rise further. Source: Supplied: Greg O'Connor
"Unfortunately, today was the first day of what would have been our production week so unfortunately, we may for the first time in our 30-year history need to make a decision around whether we have the capacity or the safety to print next week's edition."
Meanwhile, the community of Cabbage Tree Island was this morning ordered to evacuate with families, Elders, and children forced to seek safety off the island.
Like most of south-east Queensland, other areas in far-north NSW are also on high alert, including Lismore, Casino, Nimbin, and Kyogle.
Ms Moran said she had concerns about the Koori Mail's inability to feed news to the community given the circumstances, but noted that they will remain active on social media platforms to ensure they can share as much information and ongoing updates as possible.
"Unfortunately, the flooding will affect our online capacities and our podcasts as well, we'd like people to keep going to our Facebook page where we will provide updates so they can share that information so people can know the situation we are in," she said.
Bundjalung/Dhungutti woman and General Manager of the of The Koori Mail, Naomi Moran. Source: Elize Strydom
"We want people to contact us with their stories as well because we still have a responsibility to report on issues happening to our people no matter where they are from."
Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience, Senator Bridget McKenzie this morning praised the hard work of emergency services workers and urged all those in affected areas to remain safe by following public orders, avoiding high-risk areas, staying home where necessary, and reaching out for help if the situation becomes too dire.
The unprecedented conditions are expected to last several more days.
