[ad_1]
Heavy rains along Australia’s east coast over the weekend have caused the worst flooding in half a century in some areas, authorities said Sunday, forcing thousands of people to evacuate and damaging hundreds of homes.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the statewide downpour, Australia’s most populous with 8 million people, was worse than initially expected, especially in the low-lying areas of north-west Sydney.
“Yesterday, we expected it to only be a one-in-20-year event, now it looks like a one-in-50-year event,” Berejiklian said in a televised briefing.
People in parts of northwestern Sydney were ordered to flee their homes in the middle of the night, as rushing waters caused widespread destruction. Late on Sunday, about 1,000 more people were called for evacuation, after Berejiklian said about 4,000 people may be asked to leave their homes.
Vehicles are blocked by a flooded river in Old Pitt Town northwest of Sydney, Australia, Sunday, March 21, 2021. Photo: AP Photo / Mark Baker
Television and social media images showed fast-moving water unleashing houses, engulfing roads, breaking trees and damaging road infrastructure. The emergency services estimate that the total number of damaged houses is in the “hundreds”.
Several major highways were closed across the state, while many schools suspended classes for Monday.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in a Facebook post announced federal financial assistance for those affected.
The floods contrast with the devastating wildfires that hit Australia in late 2019 and early 2020, when nearly 7 percent of New South Wales land was burned.
A boat is loaded onto its trailer on a flooded road in Old Pitt Town, northwest of Sydney, Australia, Sunday, March 21, 2021. Photo: Mark Baker / AP Photo
Evacuation and flood risk advisories were set in some 13 areas in New South Wales, including Hunter, one of Australia’s leading wine regions.
Several dams, including Warragamba, Sydney’s main water supply, spilled, causing the river level to rise.
Forecasters said the downpour will continue for several days. Emergency crews have responded to some 6,000 calls for help since the onset of the rains on Thursday, including nearly 700 direct requests for rescue from the floods.
Extreme weather has also affected the delivery of Australia’s Covid-19 vaccine across New South Wales, disrupting the country’s plans to deliver the first doses to nearly 6 million people over the next several weeks.
On Sunday, Australia’s drug regulator, The Therapeutics Administration, granted approval for locally produced AstraZeneca vaccines.
The Australian government has purchased 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for local manufacture.
[ad_2]