Ballina flood: thousands of homes impacted with ‘peak to continue for a number of hours’

Ballina resident June Mount decided to stay at her house throughout the flooding. Most of the New South Wales suburb had to be evacuated as flood waters covered the region. Photograph: Natalie Grono/The Guardian

Six thousand homes in the Ballina area may have been impacted by flood waters, the State Emergency Service says, as prolonged power and phone outages hamper communications.

Flood waters surged in the northern New South Wales coastal town on Tuesday morning, with water bubbling out of the gutters as the 1.8 metre king tide met the swollen Richmond River.