Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate southwest Sydney, Australia’s largest city, as torrential rain and devastating winds hit the east coast on Sunday and floods were expected to be worse than the region’s floods in the past year. .
Heavy rain and overflowing dams and rivers threatened flash floods and landslides along the east coast from Newcastle to Batemans Bay in the state of New South Wales, and rain was expected to intensify on Sunday night.
An emergency crew rescues two ponies from a flooded area in Milpera, Sydney metropolitan area, Australia, on July 3, 2022 in this screen grab obtained from a handout video. Handout via NSW State Emergency Service / REUTERS
“If you were safe in 2021, don’t think you’ll be safe tonight. This is a rapidly evolving situation and we may very well see affected areas that have never experienced flooding before,” New South Wales Emergency Services Minister Steph Cook said in a televised media briefing on Sunday evening. Told.
Earlier in the day, he urged people to reconsider holiday travel, as bad weather hit the start of the school holidays.
“This is a life-threatening emergency,” Cook said.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned of a risk of flooding along the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers, saying that more than 200 mm (8 in) of rain fell in many areas, with some as much as 350 mm.
Camden in south-west Sydney was under water, and the Bureau of Meteorology predicted that water levels in the areas of Richmond and Windsor north of Sydney would be at higher levels since March 2021 than in the last three major flood events.
“It can get pretty bad at night,” State Emergency Service Commissioner Carlin York said.
Sydney’s main dam spilled on Sunday morning due to heavy rain, water officials said, with modeling showing the equivalent of a major leak at the Warragamba Dam in March 2021.
“There is no place for water to stay in dams. They are starting to rain. The rivers are flowing very fast and very dangerous. And then we have the risk of flash floods, depending on where it rains,” York said.
Around 2,000 calls for aid were received on Sunday and 29 people have been rescued from floodwaters in the last 24 hours, including a woman who was hanging on a pole for an hour as workers scrambled to reach her. were struggling.
The body of a man who fell from a kayak was pulled out of Sydney Harbour, police said, adding that circumstances were being investigated, but it appeared to be linked to wind conditions.
Defense Secretary Richard Marles said on Sky News that the Australian government had provided 100 troops and two helicopters to the state to assist with any rescue operations.