Heavy Rains Exacerbate Floods In Australia: Rivers Overflow Past Danger Level, 50.000 Residents Asked To Evacuate

Illustration of a flood in Sydney. (Wikimedia Commons/Brisbane City Council)

JAKARTA - Heavy rains continued to lash Australia's east coast on Tuesday, exacerbating Sydney's flooding crisis, as rivers overflowed rapidly and residents were asked to evacuate.

About 50.000 residents in New South Wales, mostly in Sydney's western suburbs, have been told to evacuate or warned they may receive evacuation orders, up from 30.000 on Monday, authorities said.

"This incident is far from over. Wherever you are, please be careful when driving on our roads. There is still a huge risk of flash flooding," New South Wales Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet told reporters.

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who returned after a week-long trip to Europe, said he would visit the affected areas on Wednesday along with Perrottet.

The Australian Federal Government has declared flooding a natural disaster, helping flood-affected residents receive emergency financial support.

The latest wild storm cell, which brought a year of rain in three days to some areas, is likely to subside in Sydney from Tuesday as the coastal trough moves north, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said.

However, the risk of flooding could remain throughout the week with most river catchments already near capacity even before the last flood. Some areas have received 800 mm (31.5 inches) of rain since Saturday, exceeding Australia's annual average of about 500 mm (20 inches).

About 90mm (3.5 inches) of rain could fall for six hours on the state's north coast from Tuesday, reaching up to 125mm (5 inches) in places, the BoM said.

Meanwhile, wind speeds of up to 90 km per hour (56 miles per hour) are also expected in some areas hit by flooding, increasing the risk of fallen trees and power lines.

Separated, battling rough seas, emergency crews resumed their rescue operations on Tuesday to tow a bulk carrier that lost power off the Sydney coast after a tow line broke in bad weather, officials said.

Heavy flooding hit Windsor west of Sydney, the third and most severe flooding this year, according to the weather bureau.

Footage on social media showed roads and bridges submerged, while emergency crews rescued stranded people from partially submerged vehicles trapped in rising water.

Nigel Myron, a resident of Windsor, said he had an inflatable boat ready in case he had to evacuate, although he wanted to return to his place once the waters receded.

"In the end, what can you do? That's how it was and we cleaned ourselves up from the ashes and rebuild after the floods came and went," Myron told ABC television.

Floods may also inundate some food-producing areas, hitting supply and driving up prices, further weighing on family budgets already reeling from soaring vegetable and fruit prices, Chalmers said.

"There's no point tiptoeing around it, that the inflation problem we have in our economy is going to get worse before it gets better. There are many sources, but this (flood) will be one of them," Chalmers told Sky News.