 River water rising over road at Taree | |
| Date | 20 May 2025 (2025-05-20) – 25 May 2025 (2025-05-25) |
|---|---|
| Location | Mid North Coast Hunter Valley Central Coast |
| Cause | Stationarylow pressure trough |
| Deaths | 5[1] |
| Flood | |
| Maximum rainfall | 533 millimetres (21.0 in) |
The2025 New South Wales floods were a significantflooding event that impacted theNew South Wales coast in May 2025, particularly theMid North Coast and parts of theHunter Valley region, including the towns ofTaree,Wingham,Kempsey,Nambucca Heads,Sawtell,Dorrigo,Port Macquarie, andCoffs Harbour.[2]
Caused by a slow-movinglow pressure system and killing five people,[3][1] it was the worst flood disaster in Mid North Coast region, with access to disaster funding been activated at both state and federal levels.[4][5] The chief executive of Natural Hazards Research Australia, Andrew Gissing, stated that the flooding was the biggest on record for the region, and a 1-in-500-year event.[5]
Taree, which is 130 kilometres (81 mi) north-east ofNewcastle, wasground zero of the floods, where dozens of residents were rescued from their housetops.[2] More than 48,000 people were isolated by flooding on the NSW Mid North Coast and almost 10,000 homes were at risk, in addition to more than 1,000 calls being made to theNew South Wales State Emergency Service (SES).[6] There were more than 140 flood warnings for the region, including significant flood warnings for theMacleay,Hastings, and Manning rivers.[2] A woman and four men died in the disaster, and one missing man was later found.[1]
NSW premier,Chris Minns, stated that the region saw "levels of rise in local tributaries, creeks, rivers" that has not been experienced since 1920.[7] On 21 May, residents in the low-lying areas atMacksville,Wauchope,East Bellingen, parts ofGloucester,Paterson were told to evacuate.[5][7][2] Furniture from churches such as lounges, beds and chairs flowed downstream alongside council barriers, footgear and cows, which were found washed up on beaches as far south asForster.[7] Major rivers in theGreater Sydney area were issued with minor flood warnings for the latter days.[6]
Over 5,000 homes and businesses fromWoolgoolga to Forster hadpower outages,[1] in addition to over 100 schools been closed.[4][8] TheManning River at Taree broke an almost 100-year record where it passed 6 metres (20 ft) on 21 May.[5] Low-lying farms inBarrington were destroyed.[7] Submerged roads also caused alandslide betweenDorrigo Mountain andThora. ThePacific Highway was closed betweenPurfleet andCoopernook.[6] In the coastal waters off the Mid North Coast aroundNambucca Heads, muddy water with a clear brown shade was visible fromsatellite imagery.[9] On 25 May, the Pacific Highway near Taree reopened and some supermarket supply chains likeWoolworths andColes still remained closed in Kempsey andWingham.[10]
Receiving 427 millimetres (16.8 in) of rain over two days, Taree had the wettest May on record and experienced one-third of its annual average rainfall from 19 to 21 May. Taree also experienced the highest floodwaters in more than 90 years.[1] TheBureau of Meteorology warned that therain band causing the floodcame from the north, after intensifying aroundGrafton and Coffs Harbour in theNorth Coast, and shifted south to Sydney, theSouth Coast and easternVictoria.[6] The Bureau of Meteorology recorded 312 millimetres (12.3 in) of rainfall in Bellingen, 533 millimetres (21.0 in) atCareys Peak, 207 millimetres (8.1 in) in Moparrabah and prevalent falls of up to 200 millimetres (7.9 in) through theNew South Wales North Coast from Wednesday 22 May to the next day.[6]
The main causes of the heavy rainfall were anear-stationarylow pressuretrough over the eastern seaboard in thePacific Ocean, which barely moved over the span of four days, that was cooperating with a staticpool of cold upper-level air and unyieldingstream of moisture-laden, easterly winds brought by ahigh pressure system in the southernTasman Sea. Furthermore, above averagesea surface temperatures in the Tasman Sea delivered additional atmospheric moisture, thereby increasing water in the sky to drop as rainfall.[11]
Emergency services carried out 284 flood rescues in the Mid North Coast and Hunter region, after 300 millimetres (12 in) of rain falling in the region in less than 24 hours. Thousands ofSES crews worked to rescue people who were trapped in the floodwaters.[6] Around 2,500 emergency workers were deployed, as well 500 appliances that included trucks, boats, and helicopters. Moreover, the state and federal governments activated disaster assistance to areas in 16 local government areas.[2] Emergency MinisterKristy McBain stated that theAustralian Defence Force personnel would be deployed for search and rescue on the night of 22 May to Taree.[6]
On 24 May, theNational Emergency Management Agency stated they were striving to restorefood supply, telecommunications and power to communities, as around 50,000 people still remained cut off and 10,000 properties required damage assessment, in addition to food being scarce after several supermarkets losing all their produce in the disaster.[12] On 25 May,NSW Minister for RoadsJenny Aitchison stated that debris removal has been expansive, with crews working continuously and freight access progressively improving. Furthermore, around 10,000 properties were still assessed for damage.[10]
Australia prime ministerAnthony Albanese shared a message of support to the residents of the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions onTwitter, in addition to offering his condolences to the dead.[4] NSW premier Chris Minns paid tribute to the victims at a press conference.[2]Greens leaderLarissa Waters blamed theclimate crisis for the floods, stating that humans have been "burning too muchcoal and gas".[5]
