SYDNEY aEUR: More than 30,000 people in Sydney and the surrounding areas have been urged to evacuate their homes or to prepare for abandonment on Monday, as Australia’s biggest city prepares for possible flooding.
Parts of the city, home to 5 million people, are now facing a fourth flood emergency in less than a year. The torrential rain that fell Friday has caused waterways and dams to burst and rivers to overflow.
Murray Watt, Emergency Management Minister, stated that “the flooding will likely be worse than any other floods that these areas have experienced in the past 18 months.”
Watt said that flooding could affect areas that were dry during previous floods.
Dominic Perrottet, Premier of New South Wales, stated that 32,000 people were affected by evacuation orders.
Perrottet stated, “You would probably expect that number to increase over the course of a week.”
He said that 116 flood rescues had been performed by emergency services in the past few days, 83 of which were since Sunday at 9 p.m. On Monday morning, hundreds more people had requested assistance.
Jane Golding, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology manager, said that some areas between Newcastle and Wollongong had received more rain than one meter (39 in) over the past 24 hours. Some areas have received more than 1.5m (59 inches).
Golding stated that the system that generated this weather shows signs that it will ease tomorrow but that more rain is expected throughout today.
She said that rain was expected to fall across New South Wales’s coast this week, including Sydney.
Flooding danger was greatest along the Hawkesbury River in Sydney’s northwest and the Nepean River to Sydney’s west.
Golding stated that the water was moving very quickly. “It’s dangerous up on the rivers, and we still have rain to fall, which means that the flash-flood danger is not over yet.”
Carlene York, Commissioner of State Emergency Services, stated that strong winds have toppled trees, causing damage to rooves as well as blocking roads. She discouraged unnecessary travel.
Theresa Fedeli is the mayor of Camden, a municipality located on the Nepean river southwest of Sydney. She said repeated flooding was causing a lot of damage to her community.
It’s absolutely devastating. Fedeli stated that they keep repeating the words “devastating, but not again”.
“I just keep saying it… “We’ve got the strength to get through this. She said that she knows deep down that it is really hitting home for a lot people.
Perrottet stated that the government and communities must adapt to major flooding, which is becoming more frequent in Australia’s most populous state.
Perrottet stated, “We’re seeing flood events more frequently, there’s not any doubt about that.”
These events are increasing in frequency across Sydney,” he said. He said that governments must adapt to the changing environment in which they find themselves.
