Four Days Of Heavy Rain Eases, Number Of Residents Asked To Evacuate Due To Floods In Sydney Increases By 35 Thousand People

Illustration of rain with lightning in Sydney. (Wikimedia Commons/Lobster1)

JAKARTA - A storm that sent four days of torrential rains in parts of Sydney has moved away from the city, satellite images showed on Wednesday, although the river remained above the danger level, forcing more evacuations.

More than 85,000 people in New South Wales, mostly in Sydney's western suburbs, have been asked to evacuate or warned they may receive evacuation orders, up from 50,000 on Tuesday, authorities said.

"This is still a dangerous situation and we need to respond appropriately," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during a news conference, as he announced a one-time emergency cash payment of A$1,000 for flood-affected residents.

An intense low-pressure system off the east coast of Australia is moving to the north-central coast of New South Wales which stretches for 300 km (186 miles), with the weather bureau forecasting more than 200mm (8 inches) of rain there for six hours.

Heavy rains since Saturday have continued to drain water into the river catchment area around Sydney, which was near full capacity before the last flood, as authorities warned the flood crisis could continue into early next week.

Meanwhile, Australia's east coast weather has been dominated by the La Nina phenomenon, usually associated with heavier rainfall, for the second year in a row. The event ended in June, but there is a 50-50 chance it could re-form later this year, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Television footage showed cars parked on rooftops and residents lining up homes and businesses with sandbags, while emergency crews were seen rescuing stranded farm animals.

Some areas of New South Wales have seen up to 700 mm (28 inches) of rain since Saturday, more than the annual average, but conditions are starting to ease in Sydney.

"We're seeing some dry conditions (in Sydney) tomorrow and then Friday, some light rain back over the weekend but not as heavy as we've seen," meteorologist Jonathan How told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.