Australia floods: Couple’s house swept away on wedding day

Thousands of homes evacuated as New South Wales sees worst flooding in 50 years

A cottage is swept down the Manning River near Mondrook in New South Wales, Australia, during heavy flooding (Ciara Knox/Facebook)

A young couple awoke on their wedding day to find their house had been swept away in the worst flooding Australia’s east coast has seen in 50 years.

Sarah Soars and Joshua Edge had reportedly been planning to get married outside their rented three-bedroom cottage in Mondrook, New South Wales, on Saturday.

But neighbours instead watched on in shock as the entire property was swept along the Manning River after it burst its banks.

Video footage shared on social media showed the cottage still fully intact as it floated down the river.

Fortunately, the couple were not inside at the time as they had been staying with family.

They had been renting the cottage from owners Peter Bowie and Tracia Milton, who were said to be “devastated” about losing the property, according to ABC News.

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Mr Bowie told the broadcaster the young couple had planned to marry on the river bank in front of their home but were forced to call off the wedding as the weather worsened.

Residents in the area have banded together to help Mr Bowie and Ms Milton track down 180 of their cattle displaced during the downpours, ABC News added.

Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes along Australia’s east coast after heavy rains brought the worst flooding in half a century to some areas over the weekend.

Thousands of homes have been evacuated after heavy rainfall brought flooding to Australia’s east coast (Alex McNaught/Roving-rye.com Photography/via Reuters)

New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian said the downpours across the state, Australia's most populous with eight million people, were worse than initially expected, especially for low-lying areas in Sydney's northwest.

“Yesterday, we were hoping it will only be a one-in-20-year event, now it looks like a one-in-50-year event,” she said during a televised briefing.

People in parts of Sydney's northwest were ordered to flee their houses in the middle of the night as fast-moving waters caused widespread destruction.

Late on Sunday, about another 1,000 people were asked to evacuate, after Ms Berejiklian said some 4,000 people may be asked to leave their houses.

Television and social media footage showed fast-moving water unmooring houses, engulfing roads, breaking trees and damaging road infrastructure.

(REUTERS)

Emergency services have estimated the total number of damaged houses to be “in the hundreds”.

Several major roads have been closed across the state while many schools have called off classes for Monday.

Prime minister Scott Morrison in a Facebook post announced federal financial assistance for those affected.

The flooding comes in stark contrast with the devastating bushfires that struck Australia in late 2019 and early 2020, when nearly seven per cent of NSW land was scorched.

(Getty Images)

Flooding risk and evacuation warnings were in place for about 13 areas in NSW, including the Hunter, one of Australia's major wine regions.

Several dams, including Warragamba, Sydney’s main water supply, spilled over causing river levels to surge.

Meteorologists said the downpour is set to continue for several days.

Emergency crews have responded to about 6,000 calls for help since the start of the rains on Thursday, including nearly 700 direct pleas for rescue from floods.

Additional reporting by Reuters