Two dead in Australia after torrential rain ravages rural towns

Flash flooding on Australia’s southeast coast has killed two people, as officials warned Thursday that more downpours were expected over the next 24 hours.

SYDNEY — Flash flooding on Australia’s southeast coast has killed two people and cut off towns, isolating tens of thousands of residents, as officials warned Thursday that more downpours were expected over the next 24 hours.

Major flooding hit several rural towns in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia‘s most populous state, with most of the Mid North Coast region facing further heavy rainfall through Thursday.

Police said the body of a 63-year-old man was found in a flooded home near Taree, more than 186 miles north of Sydney, while another body believed to be that of a missing man in his 30s had been discovered in floodwaters on the Mid North Coast.

“We’re bracing for more bad news in the next 24 hours. This natural disaster has been terrible for this community,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said during a media briefing.

“There’s 140 flood warnings, 50,000 people are in the range where they have been asked to prepare to evacuate and could be isolated, and there’s been 9,500 properties in the direct vicinity. So, we’re far from out of the woods here.”