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MELBOURNE: Heavy rains along Australia’s east coast over the weekend have caused the worst flooding in half a century in some areas, authorities said on Sunday (March 21), forcing thousands of people to evacuate and damaged hundreds of houses.
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. Berejiklian said an additional 4,000 people may be requested to evacuate.
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”.
A person walks through floodwaters near the swollen Nepean River as the state of New South Wales experiences widespread flooding and severe weather, in Sydney, Australia, on March 21, 2021. REUTERS / Loren Elliott
Houses are seen along the swollen Nepean River as the state of New South Wales experiences widespread flooding and severe weather, in Sydney, Australia, on March 21, 2021. REUTERS / Loren Elliott
Several major highways were closed across the state, while many schools suspended classes for Monday.
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.
READ: Australia’s bushfires blew as much smoke into the stratosphere as a volcano: study
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 the rest of Sunday, with some areas expected to receive up to 200ml of rain.
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.
A man smokes a cigarette by the swollen Nepean River as the state of New South Wales experiences widespread flooding and severe weather in Sydney, Australia, on March 21, 2021. REUTERS / Loren Elliott
Extreme weather has also affected the delivery of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine in New South Wales, disrupting the country’s plans to deliver the first doses to nearly 6 million people over the next several weeks.
“We have to wait and see what happens to the weather in the next few days,” Australia’s acting medical director Michael Kidd said in a televised briefing.
