The floods that hit the east coast of Australia for the second week have claimed the lives of 20 people, the authorities announced today, after the bodies of a woman and a man were found in Sydney, where new heavy rains and sudden floods are forecast.
The victims were wanted after their car was found empty, swept away by the water, according to police.
Some 60,000 people in Australia’s largest city have been evacuated from their homes today as flash floods are forecast in several parts of Sydney, according to emergency services.
Torrential rains that hit Sydney caused floods that sank bridges and underwater homes, as well as torrents that swept away cars. Supermarket roof collapsed.
The Manley Dam, north of the city, began to overflow today and 2,000 residents were ordered to evacuate.
In the Georges Hall neighborhood, near a river, cars sank halfway into the water, and police received several calls for help from drivers trapped in their cars due to the sudden rise in water levels.
Rescue services are being tested as a wave of bad weather continues to hit the state of New South Wales for the second consecutive week.
The Australian Meteorological Agency has called on citizens to remain vigilant for the next 48 hours, which are declared “difficult”.
Danger warnings due to rising water levels have been issued for the entire 2,000 kilometers of the state coast.
These floods are the “water equivalent of fires” unprecedented that ravaged Australia for months in 2019 and 2020, said speaking to the French Agency Phil Campbell, a spokesman for the first aid service.
Heavy rains caused property damage and hit wildlife in a manner similar to fires, he added.
They also have similar “consequences for the population: closed roads, damaged infrastructure, power outages,” he added.
In the past 24 hours, firefighters, police and emergency services have received calls from at least 100 people and their number is sure to increase further today as bad weather hits Sydney.
In northern New South Wales, floods destroyed homes, swept away cars, and forced hundreds of residents to seek refuge on rooftops. Cleaning and rehabilitation operations, predicted to be long and difficult, have begun.
Australia has been hit hard by the effects of climate change in recent years: droughts, deadly fires and floods, which are becoming more and more common.
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