SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday the clean-up had begun in the country's southeast after floods killed five people and inundated more than 10,000 properties.

Four people have died and several were missing as major flooding in New South Wales (NSW) left about 50,000 people isolated by floodwaters. The record rainfall, now declared a natural disaster, has been caused by a slow-moving area of low pressure and is greater than any in living memory for some residents, according to local authorities.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced the start of a cleanup operation in eastern Australia after record-breaking floods killed five people and stranded tens of thousands of people.