Couple devastated after losing home to floods on wedding day
It took less than 10 minutes for the entirety of Sarah Soars and Josh Edge's belongings, including their pet dog, to be dragged away inside their home, which succumbed to unrelenting flood waters.
The couple was supposed to be tying the knot, but instead had no choice but to watch as their home floated away in Mondrook on the NSW Mid North coast, with everything they had worked hard for inside.
"All I wanted to do was get married to Sarah. It was pretty devastating to watch," an emotional Mr Edge told Nine's Weekend Today on Sunday.
He recalled getting a call from Ms Soars, who remains stuck in Taree, telling him their home had been taken by the gushing water.
"I was in Tinonee where the river is, watching our home float past. It was devastating. We lost everything. Our little dog was in the house," he told the program.
"There was no warning, no one expected to be this bad. The water rose so quickly."
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Fighting back tears, Mr Edge said thinking of the distress their animals would have endured as their home sunk beneath the water was horrific.
"We loved all our animals, the pain that they had to go through, I don't want to think about it. She [the dog] would have been so scared. The force of that river was unbelievable, to lift our home, it's just unbelievable," he said.
Since losing everything, the couple have had no option but to lean on their community for support, with Mr Edge's brother establishing a GoFundMe account to help get them back on their feet.
"We've got nothing, my brother has given me clothes. All I wanted to do was get married to Sarah," he told Today.
Ms Soars said the ordeal had left her "lost for words".
At the time of writing, more than $75,500 had been raised for the couple in less than one day.
'One-in-100-year' weather event on Mid North Coast
Floods currently affecting massive parts of NSW are believed to be the worst the state has seen in decades, with the Myall Lake area having not been hit this hard since 1929.
Greater Sydney's Hawkesbury Nepean Valley - incorporating major urban centre Penrith - is set to cop its worst flooding in 60 years as people around NSW are forced from their homes by incessant rain.
The state's emergency service, meanwhile, says it will be working beyond Easter on the post-flood clean-up effort and restoration of key services.
The heavy rain kept falling overnight and into Sunday morning as rivers across NSW and near Sydney overflowed or threatened to flood.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the Mid North Coast was experiencing a rare weather event.
"Regrettably, parts of the Mid North Coast are experiencing a one-in-100-year event, and while we don't think things will worsen on the Mid North Coast, definitely conditions will continue," she said.
The premier once again urged people not to leave their homes unless they have to.
"We ask that everybody be extra cautious, this is not a time to be out and about unless you have to be," she said.
Ms Berejiklian confirmed Victoria, South Australia and Queensland have provided assistance for the flood rescue.
The federal government's natural disaster arrangements have been activated for a large stretch of NSW from the Central Coast to Tenterfield.
On Saturday, Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliot said he had spoken with Federal Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud and signed off on 16 natural disaster declarations.
With AAP
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