In less than 24 hours the residents of areas of the state Victoria in Australia were forced to leave their homes due to fires. Sdaily the authorities warn them about the possibility of floods as the heavy rains limited the fires but caused rivers to overflow.

Until this afternoon there is risk of flash flooding in north-east Victoriaaccording to the Australian Meteorological Service, as rains hit the region where 170,000 hectares were burning as of Tuesday.

During the night, rescuers freed a farmer who was trapped by the waters.

In some areas of the state, the amount of rainfall reached 150 mm, almost eight times the amount recorded on average throughout September. More rain is expected throughout today, Victoria’s head of emergency services Tim Wibush said.

“Fortunately there was some rainfall in the areas where the two fires broke out,” he added.

“Over the next 24 to 48 hours flash floods and river overflows are the main risk. We can’t stress this enough: people should be on guard,” he stressed.

These rainfalls occur after a unusually dry spring in Australia, which started in September. This September is the driest on record, according to the weather service, with rainfall 71% below the 1961-1990 average.

In the neighboring state New South Wales fire is raging out of control near the town of Bermagee, about 300 kilometers south-west of Sydney, having already burned 52,000 hectares.

During his visit to the region, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said these fires were reminiscent of the devastating summer fire season of 2019-2020.

The fire department announced that during the night the image of the fire improved, although several buildings have already been burned.