Large swaths of Australia’s southeast were under flood evacuation alerts yesterday as the nation’s weather forecaster said that major flooding could hit parts of New South Wales devastated by floods in March.
The emergency in New South Wales and Victoria, the country’s two most populous states, comes as Australia endures a third straight La Nina weather event, bringing heavy rains.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said that severe flooding was possible starting today in northern New South Wales, including the Northern Rivers, which take in the regional center of Lismore, among the localities worst hit by floods in March.
Photo: AP
Intense rainfall, which could lead to “dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding,” was possible for the area, the forecaster said.
There were 98 flood warnings in place yesterday for New South Wales, with inundations most severe in the northeast and on the southern border around the town of Moama, about 780km from Sydney.
In the north, evacuation warnings were sent to parts of the town of Moree late on Friday, covering about 4,000 people.
Victoria had 68 flood warnings, with parts of Echuca — a town of 15,000 on the Murray River — urged to evacuate.
The river level approached 95m yesterday, similar to devastating 1993 flood levels.
The floods, which began last week, have claimed five lives, prompted thousands of requests for assistance and led to hundreds of people being rescued from rising waters.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said 150 Australian Defence Force personnel were assisting in flood-hit areas of in New South Wales, while 350 troops were helping in Victoria.
“My government will continue to work with the states and territories, and we stand ready to support those Australians who are suffering the most,” he told reporters in Perth.
Albanese last weekend toured flood-hit parts of Victoria with state Premier Daniel Andrews after Melbourne suburbs were flooded.
Widespread floods are expected to dent the country’s economic growth and increase inflation, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Friday.
Floods in March killed at least 13 people, with tens of thousands evacuated in Queensland and New South Wales. Towns were submerged, homes were washed away and power was cut.
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