Catastrophic flood rampages NSW, thousands evacuate Sydney

Monday, July 4, 2022

Tens of thousands of Sydney residents evacuated the city on Monday as The Bureau of Meteorology issued new evacuation mandate for them.

This happened after torrential rain swamped and inundated several suburbs of NSW with officials warning of Sydney bracing wilder weather to come.

An intense low-pressure system off Australia’s east coast is forecast to bring heavy rain through Monday across New South Wales after several places in the state were hit with about a month’s worth over the weekend.

Not less than 30,00 residents in NSW were either asked to evacuate or received a warning of getting an evacuation order as the city of Sydney braced rising flood waters.

Frustration swelled in several suburbs in the west of Australia’s largest city after floods submerged homes, farms and bridges there, some for the third time this year.

An operation was underway to rescue 21 crew members from a cargo ship, which lost power south of Sydney and risked being swept ashore, local media reported.

It has been a very difficult time for many months to have this flood event off the back of others. It makes it more challenging, New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said during a televised media briefing.

Paul O’Neill, a resident from flood-hit Wisemans Ferry, said he was taking food supplies by boat to his stranded family after rising waters cut off access.

Australia ‘Under-Prepared’

In the social media footage it is seen that petrol statins, cars, streets and homes are partially under water while garbage bins floated down flooded roads. Military vehicles were sent to rescue and evacuate flood stricken families.

Some inland towns, including Picton, about 90 km (56 miles) southwest of Sydney, have lined the main streets with sandbags.

About 100 millimetres (4 inches) of rain could fall in the next 24 hours over a swath of more than 300km (186 miles) along the New South Wales coast from Newcastle to the south of Sydney, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

More than 200mm of rain have fallen over many areas, with some hit by as much as 350mm since Saturday.

The weather could trigger flash floods and landslides, with river catchments already near full capacity after the La Nina phenomenon, typically associated with increased rainfall, lashed Australia’s east coast over the last two years.

Climate change is widely believed to be a contributing factor to the frequent severe weather events, the Climate Council said, adding Australia is “under-prepared”.

Federal emergency management minister Murray Watt said climate change must be taken “seriously” due to the frequent occurrence of floods.

Bad weather has delayed by 24 hours Monday’s scheduled launch of a NASA rocket from the Arnhem Space Centre in north Australia, operator Equatorial Launch Australia said.

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