Sydney, Australia’s largest city, has been severely inundated by heavy rain, prompting what the authorities are calling “life-threatening emergencies” and issuing urgent evacuation orders for residents of the suburbs. On Monday, officials issued new evacuation orders for thousands of homes as the unrelenting rain created flooding in the suburbs. They warned that more rain is likely over the next 12 hours.
An intense low-pressure system off Australia’s east coast is predicted to bring more heavy rain through Monday across the southern regions of the state. This is where Sydney is located, and several regions of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, received roughly a month’s worth of rain over the weekend.
From Newcastle to the southern portion of Sydney, a distance of more than 300 kilometres, the meteorological service predicted that approximately 100 millimetres (4 inches) of rain might fall over various regions of New South Wales in the following 24 hours (186 miles). According to Jonathan How of the Bureau of Meteorology, the rain is expected to start up again this afternoon.
Several rivers have already reached their limits, raising fears of floods and landslides. Sydney’s main water supply, Warragamba Dam, began overflowing well ahead of projections on Sunday, according to Reuters.
As reported by the Associated Press, emergency services have respond to over 100 flood rescues and 3,000 requests for assistance. There have been evacuation centers opened in several parts of western Sydney.
South Wales Emergency Service Minister Steph Cooke warned people to act immediately if evacuation orders received.
