SYDNEY, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Officials issued disaster designations for additional areas of southeastern Australia Sunday, though flooding eased in some other areas.
State Emergency Service volunteers in New South Wales were monitoring towns and communities south of Wagga Wagga, bordering Billabong Creek, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
"After further releases from the Burrinjuck Dam, we're expecting minor flooding at Gundagai, ... moderate flooding in Wagga Wagga and minor flooding downstream," SES spokesman Phil Campbell said.
SES Minister Steve Whan said many towns sustained severe property and infrastructure damage from floods arising from heavy late-summer rainstorms.
Giving the regions a "disaster" zone classification allows them to receive emergency funding, the report said.
"That's going to help individual householders who are on low incomes to get a little bit of immediate assistance with their damage, and very importantly help the shires to overcome and fix some of the damage to infrastructure," Whan said.
Tony Casey, also from the SES, said the floods are the biggest in decades.
"These are all significant effects for the community. It's just unfortunate with the good rain, there's come this really quite significant flood, possibly the biggest in 30-odd years," Casey said.
The report did not give any damage estimates, nor did it say if anyone had been hurt or killed in the flooding.
