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full screen New South Wales in eastern Australia has again been hit by severe flooding. Here, a flooded bridge in Windsor, northwest of Sydney, from an earlier severe flood in 2021. Photo: AP (File image)
In just under a day, as much rain fell as in a month.
Around 300 homes were evacuated in north-east Sydney – now the authorities have declared the entire state of New South Wales a disaster area.
During the intense rain over the 24 hours, 111 millimeters of rain fell in Sydney, compared to 121.5 millimeters in April. Friday’s flood was the region’s seventh in just 18 months, writes British Independent.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a “major flood warning” for the Hawkesbury-Nepean and Colo Rivers in NSW due to the high levels of water.
NSW Emergency Management writes on X that it has received around 2,000 reports of flooding and has responded to 150 rescues in the past 24 hours.
Nearly 200 rescue operations have been carried out since Friday from regions cut off by washed-out or flooded roads, according to authorities.
Around 5,000 volunteers have worked to save those in need.
– Flooding has caused widespread damage across New South Wales in a short period of time and Australian and NSW authorities have activated emergency assistance to clean up and restore everything. We continue to assess the damage and understand the consequences of this disaster, writes Catherine King, responsible minister for crisis management, on X.