Residents of Murwillumbah use a boat to make their way through the streets
Two women have died and more people are feared to have drowned as two Australian states are hit by floods in the wake of Cyclone Debbie, authorities say.
The body of a woman who disappeared from an area just south of the Queensland border on Thursday was found by a family member.
The second victim died after the car she was in was swept away.
Both incidents occurred in New South Wales (NSW). The storm has moved out to sea after making landfall on Tuesday.
Tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated from northern NSW and southern Queensland.
The woman found by a member of her family on Friday had “disappeared in floodwaters overnight” from a rural property in Upper Burringbar, near Murwillumbah, NSW police said.
Lismore, south of Murwillumbah near the NSW coast, was one of the worst-hit areas, with the State Emergency Service (SES) warning of 3m(10ft) flood levels in the town.
In many towns floodwaters are continuing to rise after the category four cyclone saw some areas experience three times their average monthly rainfall on Thursday alone.
Some people’s pleas for help had gone unanswered because it was too dangerous to try to reach them, he added.
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