Floods in Australia: thousands of people in Sydney to evacuate amid record rains

Australia’s east coast is hit by record rainfall, with flood warnings issued and a natural disaster declared for parts of the most populous state, New South Wales (NSW).

Details: NSW Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian said in a briefing on Sunday that western Sydney was facing a flood event that had not been seen for half a century, while parts of the North Coast were facing an “event one year out of 100 ”.

• Thousands are under evacuation orders in NSW. “Potentially another 4,000 people could be asked to evacuate in and around … parts of western Sydney,” Berejiklian added.
• NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said in a briefing on Sunday that 16 declarations of natural disasters had been issued in NSW and that there could be more.

Note: Finance Minister Simon Birmingham told Sky News on Sunday that the floods would impact the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine. “Clearly, disruptions will be expected for many NSW freight and logistics movements as a result of these floods,” he said.

What are they saying: Agata Imielska, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), told reporters that the NSW Mid North Coast and Hunter regions had already seen record rainfall down by almost eight centimeters on Saturday.

• “It’s a very significant, record-breaking event with the rainfall we’ve seen,” Imielska said.
• While the floods were not reported, Elliott said “we are getting closer and closer to the inevitable fatality.”

The whole picture: Much of Australia is hit by heavy rains or severe weather warnings. The state of Queensland was also at risk from lightning floods, with 4.5 centimeters of rain falling in some parts on Sunday.

• Central Australia, usually dry, was another region facing threats of flash floods due to heavy rains.

Flashback: A year ago, Australia was spinning due to catastrophic fires.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.