After the bushfire crises now Australia is facing flood crisis due to non-stop heavy rainfalls. The Australian city of Sydney has been hit by its heaviest rain in 30 years, bringing flooding and travel chaos and forcing thousands from their homes. The state weather agency reported of 391.6mm of rain in the past four days, and warned of potentially life-threatening flash floods.
The rainfall has caused major loss to infrastructure and living conditions. About 100,000 homes have also been left without power.
On the brighter side, the rainfalls have been considered to be a savior in disguise as the rainfalls have actually snuffed out a lot of the bushfires which have torn via New South Wales in current months.
Two of the biggest fires, the Currsowan fire that had burned for 74 days around the town of Shoal haven, destroying nearly 500,000 hectares and 312 homes and the Gospers Mountain blaze, north-west of Sydney, that have been considered “too big to put out” have finally been put out with rains.
However, The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has warned that fire-hit areas can be particularly prone to flooding, and that fast-moving waters can carry large amounts of debris.
There are still 31 fires burning in New South Wales, but none are considered an immediate danger at present.The massive rainfall has also replenished water supplies in the region, which has been battling years of drought.The Warragamba Dam, which supplies most of Sydney’s water, is heading towards being 70% full, says WaterNSW.
At the end of last week it was at only 42% after one of the driest years on record.
A severe weather warning is now in place for the entire coast of NSW, Australia’s most populous state.In Sydney alone, at least 200 people were rescued by emergency services over the weekend.
“Everywhere has been hit, it’s hard to pinpoint where it’s worst,” said Matt Kirby, spokesman for the State Emergency Services (SES).Several people have been injured, including four who were inside a car which was crushed by a falling tree in the city centre on Sunday afternoon.
Thousands of people in low-lying areas of the city have been told to leave or get ready to leave their homes.The Northern Beaches area has already seen significant damage, with several metres of beach being washed away in places.
On Sunday night, people living around the Narrabeen Lagoon, a low-lying area in northern Sydney, were told to evacuate before roads became impassable.Waves more than 5m high have lashed the coast in areas like Collaroy, just south of Narrabeen, stripping away front gardens facing the sea.
While it had stopped raining in central Sydney on Monday, more rain is forecast for the week. The weather forecast for next weekby government agencies have warned of high tides for the coming days – known as king tides that could further worsen the flooding.
