Thousands of people on Australia’s east coast fled their homes on Wednesday as torrential rain moved north after triggering floods in Sydney that submerged communities, roads and bridges under muddy brown water.
New South Wales authorities issued fresh flood warnings north of Australia’s largest city, warning that rising, rain-swollen rivers are still a hazard in parts of Sydney even though rainfall in the city is easing.
“This event is far from over,” said state premier Dominic Perrottet.
Emergency services have issued more than 100 evacuation orders since the flooding began over the weekend.
A total of 85,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes or be ready to leave immediately lest they be stranded by rising tides.
On the western fringes of Sydney, rivers burst their banks and large areas were turned into lakes, with muddy brown water invading homes and cutting off roads and bridges.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the affected area on Wednesday and vowed to seek “long-term solutions” after multiple flooding disasters on Australia’s east coast over the past 18 months.
– ‘Floods, bushfires’ –
Albanese said that although “Australia has always been affected by floods and bushfires,” scientists have warned that climate change would make such events more frequent and intense.
“Unfortunately, what we’re seeing is the game developing,” he said.
There were 21 flood rescue workers across New South Wales overnight and more than 1,000 rescue workers were on duty on Wednesday.
The federal government has declared a natural disaster in 23 flooded parts of the state and released aid payments to affected residents.
Many affected people have experienced back-to-back flooding on the East Coast, hitting 2021 and then again in March this year when more than 20 people were killed.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said the weather system is expected to move away from the coast later this week.
Andrew Hall, chief executive of the Insurance Council of Australia, said he expected the Sydney floods to be declared a “disaster” by the insurance industry.
He said as of Tuesday, 2,700 insurance claims had been made from Sydney alone and more were expected as people were allowed to return to their homes.
According to Hall, A$5 billion ($3.4 billion) in catastrophe damage was claimed in Australia this year.
It is “unsustainable” that houses that have been flooded four times in the past 18 months remain in the insurance pool, Hall said, adding, “We need to step back and ask the question, ‘Did we build houses wrong? Job?'”
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