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Nature and EnvironmentAustralia

Downpour in Australia causes 'life threatening' floods

March 20, 2021

The rain continues to pour in Australia's south-east after an unusually wet summer. The state's emergency services have been called into action.

https://p.dw.com/p/3qthx
Residents from the neighbourhood watch the over flowing Parramatta river during heavy rain in Sydney
Though it is summer in the southern hemisphere, Australians are still getting a soakingImage: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

Sydney and the southeastern state of New South Wales (NSW) are seeing significant impact from life threatening floods caused by torrential rains, according to the NSW's emergency services.

The region has already been thoroughly soaked by an unusually wet summer, officials said. 

Towns in the area have already seen record rainfall of more than 300 millimeters (around 12 inches) since Friday morning, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

The state emergency service has seen over 3,200 requests for assistance and have conducted over 300 flood rescues since Thursday as flooding pummels the state's coast. 

 

Evacuation centers in areas north of Sydney have seen hundreds of people seeking shelter, and are expecting hundreds more as the rains move south down the coast, police said.

Residents were urged to stay indoors where flood and extreme weather warnings stretched from 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Sydney to 500 kilometers south of the city.

A family makes their way home under umbrellas during heavy rain in Sydney on March 20, 2021, amid mass evacuations being ordered in low-lying areas along Australia's east coast as torrential rains caused potentially "life-threatening" floods across a region already soaked by an unusually wet summer.
New South Wales' rainfall this summer is 29% above average, the wettest summer since 2011-2012, according to the national Bureau of MeteorologyImage: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

Persistent and heavy showers will increase the risk of flooding throughout the weekend, the meteorology bureau said. 

jm/msh (AFP)