he’s released since.

Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said 330 flood rescues were conducted in the past 24 hours. Helicopters have been used to rescue people stranded by floodwaters from rooftops and verandahs.“We’ve seen more rain and more flooding in the mid-to-north coast area than we’ve ever seen before,” Dib said.

The flooding has hit communities including Taree, Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Bellingen in New South Wales.Taree received a month’s rain in 24 hours, an official said.“Up around the Taree area, we’ve seen communities that have never flooded in recorded history now flooding,” Thurtell said.

The region has opened 14 evacuation centers as of Thursday.Government meteorologist Angus Hines said a low-pressure weather system had stalled over the flooded region since Monday, bringing 60 centimeters (2 feet) of rain to some parts.

“If it had only been one day and then it had gone, we would have seen some minor or moderate flooding but it wouldn’t have been too bad. But four days in a row of this amount of rainfall and we see this significant and extensive, widespread and major flood event happening in front of our eyes,” Hines said.

The rain was losing intensity on Thursday, Hines said.The White House is gambling that other countries will also suffer enough pain that they will open up their economies to more American exports, leading to negotiations that would reduce the tariffs imposed Wednesday.

Or, the White House hopes, companies will reverse their moves toward global supply chains and bring more production to the United States to avoid higher import taxes.President Donald Trump waves as he arrives on Air Force One at Miami International Airport, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

President Donald Trump waves as he arrives on Air Force One at Miami International Airport, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)The trade war President Donald Trump promised has begun, but analysts warn that it’s Americans who’ll really be hit. AP correspondent Donna Warder reports.