A RAAF Hercules C-130 aircraft flew into Lightning Ridge twice yesterday delivering tonnes of supplies to the local IGA.

A refuelling trip was made in Richmond before delivering the second load of supplies to the isolated town.

The huge aircraft has the capacity of delivering 20 to 30 tonnes of supplies at one time.

The delivery of supplies to Lightning Ridge came the same day as a visit from State Emergency Service (SES) NSW Commissioner Murray Kear as he also visited Wilcannia, Bourke, Brewarrina and Collarenabri to reassure locals they were not alone.

Mr Kear said it was important that members of the community called the NSW SES to order supplies if they were isolated.

“If you live in a town such as Collarenebri, Walgett and Lightning Ridge, the NSW SES is arranging for the regular delivery of food, mail, medicine and other essentials so you can continue to access goods as normal,” he said.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch said flood operations continue across north-west and western NSW with a focus on re-supply operations for isolated communities and rural areas.

“While we are focused on providing support in a variety of ways to those currently affected by the floods, we have an eye on the coming weeks and what we need to do to help those who are going to be isolated or evacuated,” he said.

“Ongoing assessments conducted by the NSW SES indicate there has been significant flooding around these towns, and while river levels appear to be dropping slightly or holding steady, floodwater is expected to move further west, impacting towns such as Brewarrina and Bourke in the coming weeks,” Assistant Commissioner Murdoch said.