50,000 Australians Warned to Evacuate as Flood Emergency in Sydney Worsens

Sydney, Australia Flood
Sydney, Australia Flood - Sputnik International, 1920, 06.07.2022
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Days of torrential downpours have caused extreme flooding in Australia’s largest city, with dams and waterways breaking banks and overflowing. The severe weather has prompted the city’s fourth flood emergency in 16 months, and city officials are now increasing the number of people who need to evacuate.
Australia’s federal government has declared a natural disaster in 23 flooded areas of New South Wales, which will shore up support for emergency funding. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced he would be visiting areas that have been damaged by the flooding along with New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet on Wednesday.
At least 50,000 people were warned that they may have to abandon their homes on Tuesday after an initial 32,000 were warned of evacuation on Monday, according to Perrottet.
“This event is far from over. Please don’t be complacent, wherever you are. Please be careful when you’re driving on our roads. There is still substantial risk for flash flooding across our state,” Perrottet said.
Rescue crews in Sydney worked overnight as rivers rose to dangerous levels. At least 100 residents in the city had to be rescued from their cars and homes, according to State Emergency Service manager Ashley Sullivan.
Flood-affected people move towards safer grounds from marooned Tarabari village, west of Gauhati, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Monday, June 20, 2022 - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.07.2022
Death Toll From Landslides, Floods in India’s Assam Rises to 179 - Photo, Video
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) reported that the storm cell—a cloud made up of an updraft, downdraft, and rain—has brought 31.5 inches of rain over the course of three days in the area of Sydney, well above Australia’s annual average of 20 inches.
"The good news is that by tomorrow afternoon, it is looking to be mostly dry but, of course, we are reminding people that these floodwaters will remain very high well after the rain has stopped," said Jonathan How, a meteorologist with BoM.
"There was plenty of rainfall overnight and that is actually seeing some rivers peak for a second time. So you've got to take many days, if not a week, to start to see these floodwaters start to recede," How added.
BoM has also predicted that the storm should move north after Tuesday, and a risk of continued flooding could remain in effect. While Australia is not wholly unfamiliar with extreme weather—with stifling hot summers and below freezing areas in high regions—the country is now experiencing a climate crisis that is causing bushfires, high rainfall, heatwaves and loss of vegetation and wildlife.
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