Two saved from NSW floodwaters
* Georgina Robinson
* Sydney Morning Herald
* May 21, 2009 - 12:41PM
Two people were pulled from floodwaters in northern NSW today as heavy rain and destructive winds swept south from Queensland overnight.
The State Government has closed all schools - more than 120 - between the Queensland border and Evans Head, which takes in the towns of Tweed Heads, Kingscliff, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah, Byron Bay, Ballina, Lismore and Lennox Head.
Serious flooding alert for NSW
As Queensland braces through the worst flooding in 30 years, large falls are set to continue to hit NSW over the next few days.
An Education Department spokesman said parents whose children had already gone to school in that area are asked to collect them. All students are being supervised by staff while they wait to be collected.
An SES spokeswoman said volunteers rescued two people overnight and helped another seven escape their homes in the Northern Rivers region.
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The ABC reported the man and a child were caught crossing a causeway in Murwillumbah. They managed to get out of the causeway and police found them on the bank.
Another 10 homes were evacuated at Chinderah, between the Tweed River and the ocean just south of the Queensland-NSW border.
The town was expected to flood again today as the tide came back in, the spokeswoman said.
Further south, more than 200mm of rain fell over Byron Bay, Lismore, Mullumbimby, Bangalow and Murwillumbah in the 26 hours to 11am as the Bureau of Meteorology issued flood warnings for every river in the region.
Winds gusting at speeds of more than 100kmh toppled trees and branches in Byron Bay, one resident said.
"There are branches and trees down everywhere ... we just had [a blackout] probably half an hour ago and there are sparks coming off a power pole with a tree resting on it," John Milek said.
"The winds were over 100kmh I'd say. It was howling through all the trees."
The SES spokeswoman said conditions were expected to worsen today. She urged residents to do everything they could to prepare their homes and stay away from floodwaters.