JAKARTA - New evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of residents of Sydney, Australia on Monday, after relentless rains triggered flooding for the third time this year in several low-lying suburbs.
An intense low-pressure system off Australia's east coast is expected to bring heavy rains through Monday across New South Wales, after parts of the state were hit by about a month of rain over the weekend.
Since Sunday, some 30,000 residents in the state of New South Wales have been told to evacuate or warned they may receive evacuation orders.
Frustration is swelling in some suburbs west of Australia's largest city after floods submerged homes, farms and bridges.
"This is devastating. We can't believe it," Camden Mayor Theresa Fedeli said.
"Most of them have just come out of the last flood, got their homes back into place, their businesses back into place and sadly we say it's happening again."
It is known that more than 200mm of rain fell in many areas, with several other areas experiencing more than 350mm of rain since Saturday.
Some areas could approach or exceed flood levels seen in March 2021 and in March and April this year, the weather bureau warned. The risk of major flooding remains even though the intense weather system may weaken on Monday, he said.
Separately, an operation was underway to rescue 21 crew members from a cargo ship, which had lost power south of Sydney and was at risk of being swept ashore, local media reported.
"It has been a very difficult time for months to have this flood event from anyone else. It makes it even more challenging," New South Wales Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet said in a televised news conference.
Meanwhile, Paul O'Neill, a resident of the flood-hit Wisemans Ferry, said he was bringing food supplies by boat for his stranded family after rising water cut off access.
"The road has collapsed and has not been repaired since the last flood, has not been touched. So now they have closed our access road and then the ferry, the only way to get home now is by boat," O'Neill told Reuters.
Footage on social media showed gas stations, houses, cars and road signs partially underwater while trash cans floated on flooded roads. Military vehicles were seen going into flooded streets to evacuate stranded families.
About 100 millimeters (4 inches) of rain could fall in the next 24 hours on more than 300 km (186 miles) along the New South Wales coast from Newcastle to south of Sydney, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Weather can trigger flash floods and landslides, with river catchments nearing full capacity after the La Nina phenomenon, usually associated with increased rainfall, hit Australia's east coast over the past two years.
Climate change is widely believed to be a contributing factor to frequent severe weather events, according to the Climate Council.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said climate change should be taken "seriously" because of frequent flooding.
"The reality is that we live in a changing climate," Minister Watt told ABC television.
Bad weather has delayed a scheduled 24-hour launch of NASA's rocket Monday from the Arnhem Space Center in northern Australia, operator Equatorial Launch Australia said.
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