Five natural disaster zones have been declared in New South Wales as police found a woman’s body on a flood-affected property in the north of the state.

The woman disappeared on Thursday night in floodwaters at a rural property at Upper Burringbar, 20km south of Murwillumbah, and her body was found by a family member at about 8am on Friday, police said in a statement. About 20,000 people have been ordered to evacuate northern NSW as flooding continued to hit the area. On Friday, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said the Tweed, Lismore, Byron, Richmond Valley, and Kyogle and Ballina local government areas were natural disaster areas, meaning residents can access disaster assistance funding.(guardian)…[+]