Northern NSW floods: evacuation order reissued for Lismore CBD as levee expected to be breached

Residents in parts of northern New South Wales have been told to evacuate their homes as life-threatening flooding hits the already saturated region. Photograph: Darren England/EPA

Residents of the flood-hit town of Lismore have once again been ordered to evacuate with the Bureau of Meteorology warning the town’s levee is likely to be breached by floodwaters on Wednesday morning.

In a flood warning issued at 5.05am, the bureau said major flooding was likely along the Wilsons River at Lismore, with floodwaters expected to peak at 10.6 metres around 8am, enough to overtop the town’s levee but still substantially below the 14.4-metre record set in February.