Thousands of people in Sydney’s outer suburbs were ordered to evacuate Sunday. Australia’s east coast was hit by record rainfall and widespread flooding. Dozens of people have been rescued from floodwaters. Emergency services issued the evacuation orders for several low-lying areas in the city’s north-west.
Check out the tweet here:
Flooding risk and evacuation warnings were in place for about 12 areas in New South Wales (NSW). This is Australia’s most populous state with 8 million people. Emergency services said they had received about 600 calls overnight asking for help; more than 60 of those were pleas for rescue from floods.
The state and the federal government has declared natural disaster zones in flood-hit areas. Allowing the release of critical disaster relief funding. Up to 1,500 SES volunteers across the state have responded to 7,000 calls for assistance. They have made 650 flood rescues since Thursday.
Warragamba Dam, Sydney’s main water source, spilled over on Saturday afternoon. This caused the river levels to rise along the Nepean and Hawkesbury. Suburbs in the region could now experience flood levels not seen since the 1961 flood.
The Bureau of Meteorology said rainfall was expected to “really intensify” on the north coast over the coming days.
Also Read: Australia Bushfires: Danger for Sydney as new blazes break out