Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate southwestern Australia’s largest city, Sydney, on Sunday amid threat of flooding from continued heavy rainfall in the area. The weather agency is warning that the rain, which could last for two more days, could lead to flash flooding and landslides along the east coast of New South Wales.
“We now face dangers on multiple fronts – flash flooding, rivers overflowing and coastal erosion,” New South Wales Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said in a televised news conference. “This is a life-threatening emergency,” Cooke said.
More than 200 millimeters of rain has fallen in many areas, with peaks of 350 millimeters, according to the weather services. The heavy rainfall has caused the Warragamba Dam, Sydney’s main dam, to leak. Authorities fear that the situation will worsen and the dam will overflow, just like at the beginning of last year. An adjacent place had to be evacuated.
“There is no room for the water to stay in the dams. They start to overflow. The rivers flow very fast and are very dangerous. And then we have the risk of flash flooding, depending on where the rain falls,” the regional authorities said.
On Saturday, 29 people were rescued from flooded areas, including one who was hung from a pole for an hour as aid workers struggled to reach the victims.
The Australian government has provided the state with 100 soldiers to help with sandbags and two helicopters, Defense Secretary Richard Marles said on Sky News.
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