Sheep stranded on a shrinking island have been airlifted to dry ground by helicopter.
NSW Department of Primary Industries has provided footage of the all-day exercise to move 1200 sheep to higher ground as the Lachlan River continues to rise to major flooding near Forbes, NSW on Thursday, November 3.
The operation took close to a full day as the sheep were moved one pen at a time.
The evacuation comes after the NSW State Emergency Service just surpassed 10,000 requests for assistance over a seven-week period.
In a 24-hour period up to 3pm on Wednesday, November 2, NSW SES had responded to 547 requests for assistance and 27 flood rescues. Areas of these flood rescues include Cowra, Tamworth, Albury, Gundagai, Forbes and Gunnedah.
Along the Lachlan River, the NSW SES is keeping a close eye on Forbes, which is predicted to reach record flood levels later this week. NSW SES volunteers and partner agencies are preparing to door knock the community, issuing a reminder to residents to be prepared and have a plan.
NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Nicole Hogan said people in the Forbes area have seen flooding before, but not to this extent in recent times.
"What we're seeing in areas like Forbes is referred to as 'blue-sky floods'," Assistant Commissioner Hogan said.
"Even when the rain has stopped falling, water is continuing to move downstream through various catchments, creating issues with river rises and renewed flood peaks."
For emergency help in floods and storms, call the NSW SES on 132 500. In life threatening situations, call Triple Zero (000) immediately.
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