Record floodwaters in eastern Australia leave 1 dead and 3 missing

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Record floodwaters on Australia’s east coast left one person dead and three others missing, officials said Thursday, as more heavy rain was forecast in the area.

Some 330 people were rescued in the flooding emergency in New South Wales state north of Sydney. The area has been hit with heavy rain since Tuesday. The flooding exceeds local records set in 1929.

News South Wales Premier Christopher Minns said some areas were forecast to receive as much as 30 centimeters (1 foot) of rain in the next 24 hours. He said 50,000 people were warned to prepare to evacuate or be isolated by floodwaters, telling reporters: "We are bracing for more bad news.”

The body of a 63-year-old man was recovered from a flooded house in Moto in New South Wales on Wednesday afternoon, Fire and Rescue Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said. A coroner will determine whether a pre-existing medical condition played a part in his death, he added.

Three people - including a 60-year-old woman, a 25-year-old man and a 49-year-old man - were also reported missing, Fewtrell said.

"We hold grave fears for all three individuals," he added.

Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said 330 flood rescues were conducted in the past 24 hours. Helicopters have been used to rescue people stranded by floodwaters from rooftops and verandahs.

"We've seen more rain and more flooding in the mid-to-north coast area than we've ever seen before," Dib said.

The flooding has hit communities including Taree, Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Bellingen in New South Wales.

Taree received a month's rain in 24 hours, Minns said.

"Up around the Taree area, we've seen communities that have never flooded in recorded history now flooding," Fewtrell said.

The region has opened 14 evacuation centers as of Thursday.