Photo: The Canadian Press
More than 30,000 residents in and around Sydney were told to evacuate or prepare to leave their homes on Monday as Australia’s biggest city faces its fourth and possibly worst round of flooding in years. -less than a year and a half.
Days of torrential rain caused dams to overflow and waterways to overflow, leading to further flash floods in parts of the city of 5 million people.
“The latest information we have is that there is a very good chance the flooding will be worse than any of the other three floods these areas have had in the last 18 months,” Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said.
The current flood could affect areas that were spared during previous floods in March last year, March this year and April, Watt added.
New South Wales state Premier Dominic Perot said 32,000 people were affected by evacuation orders and warnings.
“You would probably expect that number to increase during the week,” Perrottet said.
Emergency services carried out multiple flood rescues on Sunday and early Monday and received hundreds more calls for help.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology manager Jane Golding said some areas between Newcastle, north of Sydney, and Wollongong, south of Sydney, had received more than a meter of rain in the past 24 hours. Some have received more than 1.5 meters.
These totals are close to the average annual rainfall for coastal New South Wales.
“The system that generated this weather is showing signs of easing tomorrow, but expect more rain throughout the day,” Golding said.
Rain was forecast along the New South Wales coast, including Sydney, throughout the week, she said.
The Bureau of Meteorology says up to 12cm of rain could fall in Sydney on Monday.
The risk of flooding is highest along the Hawkesbury River, in Sydney’s north-west, and the Nepean River in Sydney’s west.
The bureau on Monday afternoon reported major flooding in the Nepean communities of Menangle and Wallasia on Sydney’s south-western suburbs.
Major flooding also occurred at Hawkesbury in North Richmond in Sydney’s north-west suburbs. The Hawkesbury townships of Windsor and Lower Portland are expected to be flooded Monday afternoon, and Wisemans Ferry on Tuesday, the bureau said in a statement.
State Emergency Services Commissioner Carlene York said high winds toppled trees, damaged roofs and blocked roads. She advised not to travel unnecessarily.
Off the coast of New South Wales, a cargo ship with 21 crew members lost power after leaving port in Wollongong on Monday morning. It was anchored near the shore and tugboats were preparing to retrieve it to safer, open waters.
The ship has engineers on board capable of repairing the engine, port official John Finch told reporters. “Unfortunately, we’re in terrible conditions right now,” he said, describing 20-foot waves and 34 mph winds.
An earlier plan to transport the ship’s crew to safety was abandoned due to bad weather.
Repeated flooding is taking its toll on members of a riverside community southwest of Sydney, said Mayor Theresa Fedelli of Camden Municipality, where homes and businesses were flooded by the Nepean River on Sunday evening.
“It’s just devastating. They just keep saying ‘devastating, not again,'” Fedeli said.
“I keep saying… ‘We’ve got to be strong, we’re going to get through this.’ But deep down you know it’s really hitting a lot of people hard,” she added.
Perrottet said the government and communities needed to adapt to the major floods that were becoming more common in Australia’s most populous state.
“To see what we’re seeing in Sydney, there’s no doubt these events are becoming more common. And governments need to adapt and make sure we respond to the changing environment we’re in,” Perrotet said.
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