Australia flood update: Tens of thousands of Australians displaced.
Lawrence, Australia:
Emergency services ordered some Sydneysiders to prepare to flee on Wednesday as heavy rainfall lashed Australia’s east coast, burying towns in floodwaters, leaving 13 people dead and thousands Hundreds of thousands of people are in danger.
A week-long downpour caused formerly rivers and reservoirs to burst, causing chaos in an 800-kilometer (500-mile) area.
From Brisbane to Sydney, more than 30 evacuation warnings have been issued and several dams are overflowing, with several near Sydney at risk of bursting.
Frightened residents sought refuge on higher ground, in makeshift evacuation centers, or by climbing into attics or rooftops for help by boat or helicopter.
In the hard-hit town of Lismore, Lucy Wise said the floods came much faster and were much higher than expected.
“The rain won’t stop and the water rises very quickly,” she told AFP.
She huddled at home as the water rose through the night before slinging her sleeping two-year-old son, covering him with a life jacket and running to the roof of their house for safety.
“We just lay there, silent and the rain was pouring down. I’ve never heard such heavy rain in my life.”
Neighbors outside watched the house sink into the water.
“For a few hours I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe. I just took one breath at a time.”
Wise and her family were eventually rescued by boat, but authorities say floods have claimed the lives of 13 others in Queensland and New South Wales.
The focus has now shifted to Sydney, Australia’s largest city and home to more than five million people.
The Warragamba Dam, which supplies 80% of the city’s water, began overflowing in the early hours of Wednesday.
Several western suburbs are under flood warnings and major evacuations, and authorities have asked residents across the city to stop all “non-essential travel”.
“There are about a few hundred thousand people affected by these warnings that we are putting out right now,” said State Emergency Services Commissioner Carlene York.
A weather pattern in La Nina has caused Sydney to experience its wettest summer in 30 years.
@Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino described the current storm system as an “atmospheric river” with “a long area of moisture in the air moving in one direction.”
Climate change is making floods, wildfires, cyclones and droughts in Australia more frequent and more intense, scientists say.
Environmental expert Hilary Bambrick of Queensland University of Technology said: “Despite decades of warnings from scientists about climate change, Australia is still unprepared for the supercharged weather it is experiencing. caused, such as the current flood”.
“Australia comes out on top for severe climate change. Temperatures in Australia are rising faster than the global average, and higher temperatures mean the atmosphere holds more moisture, which means more storms. the rain is getting harsher.”
Long way back
As cleanup work begins in the northern areas hit by floods first, many, like Mullumbimby resident Casey Whelan, predict a “long-term recovery” that could “take years”.
Whelan fled the house as the flooding worsened, but when the water level stabilized, he used a drifting kayak and a broom as paddles to get back. He found it “just demolished.”
The water rose to the level of the kitchen table, and their furniture was submerged.
“A lot of people in my street can’t afford flood insurance. Some insurance companies will quote $30,000 (US$22,000) a year… they’ll just be wreckage. They won’t.” Is there a way to rebuild it,” he said.
55-year-old farmer James Clark said it would take weeks just to assess the damage.
“I lost my tools, I lost my equipment, I had farm machinery in the water. I didn’t get up high enough. I guessed the flood was coming and took the gear up, but not up enough,” he said.
“After the flood, it can take months before things return to normal. Even weeks before you can walk without getting wet under your feet.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
