Trapped on the roof of her home in South Lismore, with floodwaters rising and rain pelting down, Jess Rankin took shelter under an unlikely household item - the washing basket.
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Rankin cut a forlorn figure as she sheltered as best she could with her her two young children and elderly father on the roof of the Caniaba Street home.
In what is set to become an enduing image of the 2022 flooding event, Rankin used a washing basket to take cover from the rain.
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At one point she desperately posted on Facebook, like so many others that they needed to be rescued.
With the SES swamped with calls for rescues, Jess had to wait until midday to be picked up and taken to an evacuation centre.
Facebook pages including the NSW SES Lismore City Unit, the Lismore Information Exchange and Lismore City Council, have been inundated with posts from residents in need of rescue and from those trying to locate family and friends.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, addressing the media earlier today, said there had been more than 500 rescues and 927 calls for assistance from stranded residents.
Twelve evacuation orders were currently in place, affecting 16,000 people.
"We are seeing unprecedented flooding, particularly in northern NSW and we expect that flooding to get worse," he said.
"We are doing everything we can to provide help and support as quickly and as safely as possible."
More to come.
