Hundreds of St Georges Basin, Sussex Inlet homes inundated as cleanup continues

NSW State Emergency Services (SES), Rural Fire Service and Australian Defence Force crews were out in force over the weekend, helping to clear streets, remove debris and assist the recovery of flood-affected residents.

SES St Georges Basin unit commander Chris Wheeler said "hundreds and hundreds" of homes were inundated and that it could be weeks before some of the damage could be repaired.

"We've had hundreds of requests for help. The impact on the homes with flash flooding has been incredible," he said.

"We saw ceilings collapse with leaking rooves. Lots of floodwaters standing around and because it becomes contaminated with overflowing sewage ... it becomes stagnant and smells.

"We saw floodwater that had gone through houses, which had then drained away and dried, but left a residual mess on the floors."

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As torrential downpour battered the South Coast, NSW SES ordered residents in parts of St Georges Basin and Sussex Inlet to evacuate last Tuesday. It was deemed safe to return the next day.

Mr Wheeler said these floods were comparable to those in previous years and had hit some in the community hard.

"Some know what's going to happen because they've seen it for as long as they've lived," he said.

"There's a great deal of resilience in the community. But there's also a certain amount of loss.

"Some people had the worst week of their life, because they've experienced some flash flooding before, but never to this extent."

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St Georges Basin river heights peaked at 1.57 metres, and Sussex Inlet peaked at 1.23 metres last week.

Residents told the South Coast Register their homes on The Park Drive were inundated by a metre of water.

With roads now mostly clear, Mr Wheeler said the forecast will dictate the cleanup efforts moving forward.

"If we keep getting downpours of rain, it's only going to top up the puddles," he said.

"Until we get some decent weather that dries it all up, the mess is going to be hanging around for a little while yet. It's impossible to put a time on how long this cleanup could take. "

More heavy rainfall is unlikely, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting a top of 18 mm for the rest of the week.

The St Georges Basin SES unit went through more than 120 tonnes of sand to fill almost 5000 sandbags to protect properties over the last two weeks.

Mr Wheeler said SES crews had worked 16 days straight and thanked the community for their cooperation and preparedness.

Requests for cleanup assistance have been passed to Shoalhaven City Council's Recovery Into Resilience Project committee as of Monday.

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