More than 30,000 Sydney and surrounding area residents have been ordered to evacuate as Australia’s largest city faces its fourth and possibly worst round of flooding in 18 months.
Since Friday, torrential rain has caused dams to overflow and waterways to overflow their banks, bringing another flood emergency to the city of five million.
“According to the most recent information we have, there is a very good chance that the flooding will be worse than any of the three floods these areas have experienced in the past 18 months,” Murray Watt, the minister of emergency management, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
In February, eight people were killed by flash floods on the east coast of the United States.
Mr. Watt added that the current flooding may affect areas that remained dry during the previous floods.
Premier of New South Wales Dominic Perrottet stated that 32,000 individuals were affected by evacuation orders and warnings.
Mr. Perrottet stated, “It’s likely that this number will increase over the course of the week.”
He reported that emergency services had performed 116 flood rescues in recent days, including 83 since Sunday at 9 p.m. On Monday, hundreds more requests for assistance were made.
Jane Golding, manager of Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, stated that some areas between Newcastle, north of Sydney, and Wollongong, south of Sydney, had received more than one meter of precipitation in the preceding twenty-four hours. Some areas have received over 1.5 meters.
These totals are close to the average annual precipitation for coastal New South Wales.
“There are indications that the system that has been causing this weather will weaken by tomorrow, but expect more rain today,” Ms. Golding said.
She said that rain was forecast for the entire week along the New South Wales coast, including Sydney. Monday could bring Sydney up to 12 centimeters of rain, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The highest risk of flooding was along the Hawkesbury River in northwest Sydney and the Nepean River in western Sydney.
Carlene York, the state’s commissioner of emergency services, stated that high winds had blown down trees, damaged roofs, and blocked roads. She recommended avoiding unnecessary travel.
After leaving Wollongong on Monday morning, a cargo ship with 21 crew members lost power off the coast of New South Wales. It was anchored near the coast, and tugboats prepared to tow it into safer, open water.
John Finch, a port official, told reporters that the ship possesses engineers capable of repairing the engine.
“Unfortunately, we are currently experiencing some terrible weather conditions,” he said, describing eight-meter swells and 34 mph winds.
Mayor Theresa Fedeli of the Camden municipality on the Nepean River stated that repeated flooding was hurting residents of a riverside community south of Sydney.
Mr. Perrottet stated that governments and communities in Australia’s most populous state must adapt to the increasing frequency of catastrophic flooding.
Without a doubt, these flood events are occurring more frequently, as Mr. Perrottet stated.
“It’s undeniable that these occurrences are becoming more frequent, given what we’re seeing in Sydney.”
