Sydney: With torrential rain, thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate Australia’s biggest city, southwest Sydney.
Heavy rain and overflowing dams and rivers all combined to threaten flash floods and landslides along the east coast from Newcastle to Batemans Bay in New South Wales state on Sunday, and rain was expected to intensify in the night.
“If you were safe in 2021, do not assume you will be safe tonight. This is a rapidly evolving situation and we could very well see areas impacted that have never experienced flooding before,” New South Wales Minister for Emergency Services Steph Cooke said in a televised media briefing on Sunday evening.
Earlier in the day, she urged people to reconsider holiday travel, with the rough weather having hit at the beginning of school holidays.
“This is a life-threatening emergency situation,” Cooke said.
More than 200mm (8 inches) of rain have fallen over many areas, with some hit by as much as 350mm (13.8 inches), the Bureau of Meteorology said, warning of flood risks along the Nepean and Hawkesbury Rivers. The volume of rainfall is almost half of Sydney’s annual average.
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