Poor mobile reception, internet outages hamper flood recovery in northern New South Wales

Prolonged phone and internet outages are causing "enormous anxiety and stress" in flood-affected communities in northern New South Wales, residents say. Key points: Flood-affected residents in northern NSW have struggled with phone and internet outages for days Providers say they are working to restore services Ballina MP says more needs to be done to improve telecommunications in the region Alstonville resident Jessica Harbisher feared for her father's safety after she was unable to contact him more than 24 hours after floodwaters inundated his home in West Ballina. Telstra's northern NSW regional manager Mark Marom said Kyogle and Lennox Head were among 18 areas throughout the North Coast with no NBN or mobile reception. "We can't control the weather, but what we can do is ensure we have adequate crews, generators ready to deploy when it's safe to do so to restore services," he said.