Australia's most populous state hit by severe rains, floods
Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales has issued more evacuation orders following the worst flooding in decades
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Australia s most populous state of New South Wales on Sunday issued more evacuation orders following the worst flooding in decades.
The New South Wales State Emergency Services responded to 640 calls for help on Saturday night, including 66 for flood rescues.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that hundreds of people have been rescued from the waters.
Evacuation orders have been issued at multiple locations on the Mid North Coast in the northeast of the state, which Berejiklian said was experiencing a one-in-a-100-year event, and “whilst we don’t think things will worsen on the Mid North Coast, definitely conditions will continue, so the rainfall will continue across the parts that have already been affected.”
Berejiklian also said that parts of Western Sydney are being hit by a one-in-50-year weather event, with some locations recorded more than 300 milimeters (11.8 inches) of rain since Friday morning, breaking records.
The Warragamba dam, west of Sydney, started overflowing on Sunday and so far, 13 evacuation centers have been opened across the state. More evacuations are expected as the bad weather is forecast to last into the middle of the week.
Local authorities are urging people not to drive through flooded areas as they could get easily swept away by the strong currents.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.