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SYDNEY: Record rains and widespread flooding prompted evacuations along Australia’s east coast on Saturday and threatened the most serious overflow of Sydney’s main reservoir in 30 years, authorities said.
Authorities warned of potentially “deadly” flash floods as torrential rains hit a vast coastal region already drenched by an unusually wet summer.
“It is a very significant and unprecedented event with the rains that we have seen,” said Agata Imielska from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Police said hundreds of people had flocked to evacuation centers in areas north of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, expecting many more to seek shelter as the rains moved south down the coast. .
The Bureau of Meteorology reported that flood levels exceeded record 2013 floods along the Hastings River on the outskirts of Port Macquarie, about 400 kilometers (240 miles) north of Sydney, although river levels began to decline. later on Saturday.
Cities in the area have already seen record rainfall of more than 400 millimeters (16 inches) since Friday morning, the bureau said.
He warned that heavy rains were forecast to roll down the coast over the weekend, “which could lead to life-threatening flash floods” in some areas.
Extreme weather and flood warnings extended from Port Macquarie to areas 500 kilometers south of Sydney, where residents were urged to stay indoors due to the risk of flash flooding.
The Warragamba Dam, which provides much of Sydney’s drinking water, began to spill on Saturday afternoon in what experts expected to be the reservoir’s first significant overflow since 1990, although there have been smaller gaps more recently.
“We are in uncharted territory,” warned Ian Wright, a water expert at the University of Western Sydney, who said the rapid urbanization of the western Sydney area around Warragamba since 1990 meant that its overflow could no longer be reabsorbed by scrub. surrounding.
“Urban development adds hard, impervious surfaces and drainage infrastructure. With heavy rains, this can quickly generate high-speed flooding, ”Wright tweeted.
Authorities issued an evacuation order for the town of Picton south of the dam after the spill and were closely monitoring flood-prone areas west of Sydney.
Most of Saturday’s severe flooding occurred along the coastline north of Sydney, where television footage showed city and town streets underwater, and a house literally floating in a swollen river.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison lamented the “absolutely heartbreaking scenes” of flooded homes, towns and businesses and offered troops to help with the emergency effort.
National broadcaster ABC said rain and flooding would also delay the already halted launch of coronavirus vaccines in Sydney and surrounding areas.
The country is due to begin the first major public phase of vaccine distribution on Monday, although the program has been delayed from the government-announced schedule due to supply and delivery problems.
Emergency services reported receiving more than 3,000 calls for help and carried out around 300 flood rescues on Friday night and Saturday across the affected area.– AFP
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