Aidan Ricketts, who also evacuated his own household of six, says the flood is ‘beyond all records or memories’
- Ballina: emergency orders issued for NSW coastal town as waters rise
- Flash flood warning for parts of Sydney and nearby districts as wild weather moves south
- How the unprecedented Queensland and NSW floods unfolded
- Follow the Australia floods live blog
- Get our free news app; get our morning email briefing
Aidan Ricketts’ north Lismore house had never flooded before but he woke before dawn to water pouring in. But Ricketts, who owns a 4.5-metre boat, managed to get his own household safe before returning to rescue people living in the surrounding streets.
On Monday he ferried 16 people and five dogs to safety.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning