As heavy rains hit Australia’s east coast, thousands could have to flee their homes. Emergency crews warned Sydney’s five-million residents to be aware of the situation and be prepared for disruptions in travel.
Police said that a man was found dead inside his car following a deluge. The region had been ravaged by the third severe weather system in six weeks.
As emergency crews advised the city’s five-million residents to avoid unnecessary travel, they warned them to prepare for evacuations.
As almost a month of rainfall fell on Sydney on Thursday night, causing rivers to burst and entire towns to be without power, a severe weather warning was issued for the South Coast of New South Wales.
According to authorities, conditions are expected to ease starting Thursday night.
Warragamba Dam in Sydney, Sydney’s main water source, could overflow on Friday.
Daniel Austin, acting commissioner for New South Wales’ emergency services, stated that it was a highly dynamic environment. These events are happening at an extraordinary pace.”
He said that flash flooding was almost always caused by lightning strikes of exceptional sharpness and short durations.
Many residents of Sydney’s west suburbs were ordered to evacuate again after they were told to leave weeks earlier due to the city’s wettest March in recorded history.
Flood evacuations are threatening more than 4000 residents.
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A suburban resident described the “heartbreaking” situation by ABC television, describing how the weather “came back out of nowhere”.
Residents and emergency crews now have to clean up tonnes of debris left by the storm.
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Sydney has had 1,227mm (48 inches), of rain this year. This is more than the average annual rainfall of 1,213mm.
According to official data, Bondi was recoded at around 170 mm during the 24-hour period ending at 9am on Thursday local time.
The La Nina weather phenomenon that is typically associated with higher rainfall has had an impact on Australia’s east coast for the second consecutive year. Most rivers reached capacity before the latest rains.
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