A body was recovered in Eugowra, NSW, on Friday, five days after an 85-year-old man went missing. He was last seen at his home on Monday.
His family members couldn’t find him and there were fears for his welfare due to the heavy rainfall and flooding that affected the town.
The body was found on the outskirts of Eugowra, near Casuarine Drive. Although it’s not yet clear if the body is that of the missing man, police believe it is.
As the debate over the issue of overdevelopment in flood plains continues, the NSW Labor government promised to ban new projects within the region.
Powerful flash flooding hit the town of Eugowra on Monday, flattening much of the area.
Less than four days after the crisis began, Labor announced that it would stop new projects in flood plains if it was elected in March.
The opposition criticized the government’s approach, saying that it would put more people at risk by allowing six ministers to have planning powers.
One of the 28 recommendations of the NSW flood inquiry was to relocate residents from high-risk areas using a combination of land swaps, planning controls, and private investment.
Following the flood crisis, the NSW government announced that it would lead the development of a national planning and development laws reform.
Premier Perrottet visited Eugowra on Friday and said that he would unveil his plan to address the issue of overdevelopment within flood plains at the National Cabinet meeting.
During his visit to Eugowra, Perrottet said that the government would make improvements to the planning and development laws in order to prevent similar mistakes from happening in the future.