Australian river flooding 'widespread'

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SYDNEY, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Emergency officials in Australia say severe flooding has killed two people left thousands isolated on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

Evacuations have been ordered for several towns, including Kempsey, Port Macquarie and Bellingen and evacuation centers have been set up at Bellingen and Urunga, as flood warnings for 14 other rivers have been issued, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported Saturday.

Rachel Hussell, from Essential Energy, said the worst-hit areas are around Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Nambucca Heads.

"There is just so much damage to the network, especially in and around some of those areas that are hard to get to, in and around the Coffs area, that we just cant guarantee that we're going to get power on [on Saturday night]," she said. "It is very much widely spread. In saying that we do have crews working in all of those areas, as we've pulled in crews from neighboring regions."