Australians Rescued From Rooftops as Torrential Rain Ravages Rural Towns

Hundreds of residents in flood-ravaged Australia’s southeast were rescued by helicopter and boat after rivers rose rapidly on Tuesday, cutting off entire towns and inundating houses, highways, bridges and farms.
Emergency crews deployed more than a dozen helicopters to rescue trapped people from rooftops in the worst-hit towns in New South Wales (NSW) state, officials said.
More than 200 flood rescue operations were conducted in the state over the past 24 hours to Tuesday morning, while 24 emergency warnings remained.
NSW Rural Fire Service said their helicopters saved 67 people, with some clinging to trees and on rooftops.
A faster-than-expected rise in floodwaters forced officials to bring forward by two hours evacuation orders for Forbes, where the rural wheatbelt town’s 8,000 residents are battling their second major flooding in as many weeks.