NSW floods: Tamworth emergency service leaders tasked with following the floodwaters across the New England North West and supporting communities

The North West State Emergency Service (SES) superintendent worked alongside a strong team of emergency service leaders and an army of dedicated volunteers as floodwaters wreaked havoc on several fronts last month.

"It was a very intense time, because not only did we have the Moree area, we had other localities under the threat of flooding and we had to ensure we had the appropriate resources deployed all across the New England North West," Superintendent Parker said.

In the span of just a couple of days, the Namoi River at Gunnedah, the Peel River at Tamworth, the Macintyre River at Inverell and the Mehi River at Moree were all under the threat of floods.

Superintendent Parker was based at a control centre in Gunnedah during the ordeal, but had boots on the ground in Moree in the aftermath of the floods, where he met local landholder Linda Maidens.

"It's a really emotional time because our role is to protect the community and assist in incidents and even though Linda had lost stock and fences, she was still there to tell her story, which was the most rewarding."

Moree and Inverell were the major areas of concern, but water at Tamworth rose suddenly and submerged roads, fields and bridges.

"We were very, very fortunate that no one was killed or seriously injured, but there has been a lot of financial and emotional effects on the persons who have had their houses inundated with water and have lost livestock and fences," he said.

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Despite the weeks of almost round-the-clock work, Superintendent Parker said it had been rewarding to help locals through such a devastating time and to rely on a fantastic team of volunteers.

"The most rewarding part of this event has been to work with and listen to the community, they can provide real-time and accurate information about the river heights," he said.

Superintendent Parker said the volunteers had done a "tremendous job" after weeks of exhausting work.

Now that the local situation has settled down, he said volunteers from the Tamworth area had been putting up their hands to help out in other communities like Mungindi and Walgett, where flooding is still occurring.

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