Thirty evacuation orders and four evacuation warnings are in place across northern rivers region
- East coast low menaces Sydney and vast stretch of NSW coast
- Farmers reeling from third disaster in three years
- Disaster agency defends not listing Lismore as priority area for funding
- Flood of help: how the disaster has brought neighbours closer together
- Follow our live blog for the latest updates
- Get our free news app; get our morning email briefing
Floods are rising in the northern New South Wales town of Ballina, with water expected to reach its highest peak yet due to a king tide.
The surge comes after authorities searching homes in Lismore, 40km inland and 12 hours upstream from Ballina, reported a second death, with the body of a woman in her 80s discovered in a South Lismore home on Tuesday afternoon. Another woman in her 80s was found dead that morning.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning