SYDNEY — Sydney’s largest city faced its fourth and most severe flooding in less than one year. More than 30,000 people were asked to evacuate their homes or to prepare for evacuation.
The torrential rains caused floods in parts of the city, which was home to 5 million people.
Murray Watt, Emergency Management Minister, stated that “the latest information that we have is that there’s an extremely good chance that flooding will be worse than any other floods that these areas had in 18 months.”
Watt said that flooding could affect areas that were not affected by the floods of March last year, March next year, and April.
Dominic Perrottet, Premier of New South Wales, stated that 32,000 people were affected by evacuation orders.
Perrottet stated, “You would probably expect that number to increase over the course of a week.”
Numerous flood rescues were conducted Sunday and Monday by emergency services, and there were many more calls for assistance.
Jane Golding, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology manager said that some areas between Newcastle and Sydney had received more rain than one meter (39 in) over the past 24 hours. Some areas have received more than 1.5m (59 inches).
These totals are close to the average annual rainfall in coastal New South Wales.
Golding stated that the system that generated this weather shows signs that it will ease tomorrow but that more rain is expected throughout today.
She said that rain was expected to fall across New South Wales’s coast all week.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, up to 12 cm (4.7 inches) of rain could fall on Monday in Sydney.
Flooding danger was greatest along the Hawkesbury River in Sydney’s northwest and the Nepean River to Sydney’s west.
Monday afternoon, the bureau reported flooding at the Nepean communities Menangle and Wallacia along Sydney’s southwest fringe.
On Sydney’s northwest coast, major flooding also occurred at the Hawkesbury and North Richmond. According to a bureau statement, the flooding of Windsor and Lower Portland in Hawkesbury was expected Monday afternoon. Wisemans Ferry would be affected Tuesday.
Carlene York, Commissioner of State Emergency Services, stated that strong winds have toppled trees, causing damage to rooves as well as blocking roads. She discouraged unnecessary travel.
A cargo ship carrying 21 crew lost power off the New South Wales coast on Monday after it left Wollongong port. The ship was an anchor near the coast, and tugboats were ready to pull it into safer open waters.
John Finch, a port official, said that the ship had engineers aboard who could repair the engine. “Unfortunately, unfortunately, we just happen be in some terrible conditions at the moment,” John Finch told reporters. He described 8-meter (26 feet) swells, winds blowing at 30 knots (33.4 mph), and described how they were causing havoc.
Bad weather forced the abandonment of an earlier plan to fly the crew to safety.
Residents of a riverside community south of Sydney were suffering from repeated flooding, according to Mayor Theresa Fedeli. Homes and businesses were inundated over Sunday night by the Nepean River.
It’s absolutely devastating. Fedeli stated that they keep repeating the words “devastating, but not again”.
She continued, “I just keep saying… We’ve got to stand strong, we’ll get through this’ but you know it’s really hitting home for a lot people.”
Perrottet stated that the government and communities must adapt to major flooding, which is becoming more frequent in Australia’s most populous state.
These events are increasing in frequency across Sydney,” Perrottet said. Perrottet stated that governments must adapt to the changing environment in which they find themselves.
