‘We saved the cat’: flood-hit NSW town of Forbes could be divided for days

Tony Wallace with his son Matthew launched a runabout to check on his business which is under water in an industrial area of Forbes as the Lachlan River peaks. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Flood waters in the New South Wales town of Forbes appear to have peaked just below the record set in 1952 but residents are anxious about when the water will recede so they can start the clean-up.

The Lachlan River started rising on Monday and hit 10.68 metres on Wednesday afternoon – just below the 10.8-metre record – before dropping 1cm on Thursday morning.