Fears for missing people believed to have been swept into a fast-rising creek that crosses Grange Road in Schofields turned out to be a false alarm.
But it was lucky for two families that emergency services were patrolling the area, as they had been left isolated after the torrential downpour and needed help reaching higher ground.
Hills SES volunteer and senior team leader Damian Hofman, of Dundas, said his unit received a call at about 11am to assist the police with a search ‘‘for a potential missing person’’.
‘‘They were believed to be missing in floodwaters in a creek that crosses Grange Road.
‘‘The information we had was that someone could hear someone calling for help.
‘‘We launched our boat, put some crew on there from various services and we went out to try and find the source of the voice that was apparently heard.
‘‘We searched up and down for a good couple of hours.
‘‘We also had the assistance of PolAir [the NSW Police Force Airwing] for a period of time.
‘‘Noone could be located and so the search was called off.’’
He said it was during this search that they discovered too household ‘‘not too far away’’ that were isolated.
‘‘What we did is we just helped get them to higher ground,’’ Mr Hofman told the Courier at 6.30pm.
‘‘We’ve only just returned to headquarters [in Baulkham Hills].’’
‘‘Everyone is now accounted for’’ the SES Sydney Western Region’s media officer, Katie Moulton, said.
- — SES Sydney Western Region media officer, Katie Moulton
The Hills SES crew has assistance from Blacktown SES, who supplied a boat and boat operator, and Parramatta SES.
‘‘Everyone is now accounted for,’’ the SES Sydney Western Region’s media officer, Katie Moulton, said.
She said volunteers from the SES Sydney Western Region also spent the afternoon doorknocking the Schofields-Riverstone-Marsden Park area, checking on people’s welfare, she said.
‘‘Really the water should be starting to subside,’’ she told the Courier at 4.30pm.
‘‘Flood rescues from people in cars continue to be a concern.’’
Emergency services personnel from Ambulance NSW, the NSW Police Force and Fire & Rescue NSW also helped with the Schofields flood rescue.
Fire and Rescue received the call-out at about 11.30am.
As of 2pm Fire & Rescue NSW had today attended about 30 flooding incidents in the Parramatta local government area, five in Blacktown LGA, 9 in The Hills LGA, 3 in Penrith LGA, and 6 in Holroyd LGA.
There had been no call-outs to The Hawkesbury LGA.
‘‘There’s been quite a few rescues from cars," the service’s spokeswoman said.
‘‘There were concerns there was someone trapped inside a car near the fire station at Hambledon Road in Quakers Hill about 7.45am, but there was no one inside so the vehicle was left in situ.
‘‘A bus got stuck in the middle of the road, due to rising water, at Claremont Street, Merrylands, at about 8am. But the people were able to get out of the bus.’’
The Public Information and Inquiry Centre (PIIC), which was activated to support the severe weather response in NSW, has now closed.
During the emergency services operation, the PIIC took more than 1400 calls from the community and provided up-to-date information for residents in flood-affected areas.
The Public Information Inquiry Centre is coordinated by the NSW Police Force and is staffed by volunteer personnel from the Red Cross, Rural Fire Service, the Volunteer Rescue Association and State Emergency Service.
Click here for guidelines of what to do during a flood.
Members of the public seeking emergency assistance during a flood or storm should call the NSW State Emergency Service on 132 500, or visit their website: http://www.ses.nsw.gov.au.
