SYDNEY –
Thousands of residents in Sydney’s suburbs were told to evacuate their homes on Sunday after heavy rain caused flooding and rivers to overflow in what authorities called life-threatening situations.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for heavy rain and flash flooding and winds of up to 90 kilometers (55 miles) per hour along the coast of Australia’s most populous city and other parts of New South Wales state.
Authorities said Warragamba Dam in western Sydney had begun to overflow overnight and the peak spill would be comparable to the devastating flood in March last year.
Residents in a number of suburbs have been ordered to evacuate, but Emergency Services Minister Steph Cook said people should not wait to be told to leave.
“If you’re uncomfortable or unsure of your circumstances and there’s an option to leave early, you don’t necessarily have to wait for an evacuation order,” she said. “If you were safe in 2021, don’t assume you’ll be safe tonight. It’s a fast-moving situation and we can see affected areas that we haven’t seen before.”
Emergency services said they had carried out more than 100 flood rescues and responded to more than 3,000 calls for help in the past 24 hours. Evacuation centers have opened in several areas in Sydney’s west.
About 100 Australian Defense Force personnel were helping by placing sandbags and knocking on doors to warn of flood threats.
Met Office hazard preparedness and response manager Jane Golding said the coastal trough left from Friday had deepened as an east coast low pressure system formed off the mid-north coast.
“This has resulted in extraordinary amounts of rainfall in the last 24 hours… up to 200mm has fallen in many places and close to 300mm in some,” she said. Rainfall is almost half of Sydney’s annual average.
People were told to avoid all non-essential travel, including on public transport, with some roads already under water and others at risk of flash flash flooding.
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