Australia: Residents evacuated as Sydney sees intense flooding
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Australia is currently facing widespread flooding, which has caused at least two deaths and another person has been reported missing. Parts of Victoria, southern New South Wales and northern Tasmania have received up to four times their average October rainfall in just one day.
Megan Keating, a motel owner who lives in one of the worst towns which have been hit with floods, returned to her business to try and begin cleaning up.
She said: “I’m just looking forward to turning my no vacancy off and being able to welcome people back.
“The biggest challenge is where do you start?”
Ms Keating is from the town of Rochester in Victoria, where one man has died in the flooding and residents have been warned to evacuate.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “We are living in very dangerous times in the days and weeks ahead.
“There is further rain expected later this week, so it remains a very dangerous situation.”
This weekend, the Australian leader toured areas in Victoria where flooding has been the worst in the country.
Video footage on social media has shown Victoria residents kayaking down flooded streets and large areas have been completely submerged underwater.
Mr Albanese announced emergency payments of A$1000 (£554.9) who have been seriously injured or had their homes damaged or destroyed.
Tim Wiebusch, the Victoria State Emergency Service chief operations officer said the area was experiencing “blue sky flooding” as heavy rains have passed.
Mr Wuebusch has also said flooding up to 12,2 meters would likely flood more than 7,000 homes.
More than 20 people have been killed this year in Australia due to flooding, which has been brought on by the La Niña weather pattern and caused rivers to swell.
Jim Chalmers, the Australian Treasurer, has warned the latest flooding has overwhelmed farming areas and that “some of the best growing and producing (regions) in Australia” were affected.
This is likely to cause food prices to rise and cause more families to struggle with the current inflation rises.
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Barry Webster, a Melbourne resident, spoke to the local newspaper The Age after he discovered his home had been completely submerged underwater.
He said: “I always said I wanted riverfront views, but not like this.
“Going downstairs and seeing the lounge floating… it’s a bit surreal, kind of like a movie.”
Daniel Andrews, an Australian politician who is the Premier of Victoria, said this was one of the worst floods in decades and the number of homes completely flooded was “absolutely certain to grow”.
He said: “This has only just started, and it’s going to be with us for a while.”
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