SYDNEY: Around 500,000 people in Sydney and its surrounds had by Thursday been told to evacuate or prepare to flee floodwaters as torrential rain lashed an extraordinarily long stretch of the Australian east coast. Rivers were rising in Australia’s most populous city, home to 5 million, with New South Wales’ State Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke warning of “treacherous weather conditions” over the next 24 hours.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology warned of life-threatening flash flooding and damaging winds with peak gusts in excess of 90 kilometers (56 miles) an hour. Major flooding was expected along several rivers in and around Sydney. Dozens of suburbs were on high alert.
The State Emergency Service issued evacuation orders to 200,000 residents and evacuation warnings had been sent to another 300,000. New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet urged residents to take the orders seriously.
“We do believe that things will get worse before they get better,” Perrottet said.
Minor flood warnings were also issued for coastal communities as far as 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Sydney. Floodwaters were also rising in Brisbane, Australia’s third-most populous city 730 kilometers (450 miles) north of Sydney, as severe thunderstorms struck.