Richmond, Australia — Hundreds of homes were flooded in a flood emergency that caused problems for 50,000 people in and around Australia's largest city, officials said. Said on Tuesday.
The emergency response team rescued 100 people trapped in cars on flooded roads and flooded homes in the Sydney area overnight, said Ashley Sullivan, state emergency services manager.
Several days of torrential rain flooded dams, broke waterways and broke embankments, causing a fourth flood emergency in parts of a city of 5 million people in 16 months.
New South Wales Prime Minister Dominic Perrott said evacuation orders and warnings were given to 32,000 to 50,000 people on Monday to prepare them to abandon their homes.
"This event isn't over yet. Don't be self-satisfied wherever you are. Be careful when driving our roads. The risk of flash floods throughout the state remains. It's expensive, "said Perotet.
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New Overnight, 23 local governments in South Wales declared a disaster and activated federal financial support for flood victims.
Emergency Services Minister Steph Cook acknowledged rescue team skills and commitment to prevent death or serious injury by the fourth day of a flood emergency.
A part of southern Sydney was hit by more than 20 centimeters (about 8 inches) of rain in 24 hours. This is more than 17% of the city's annual average, said Jonathan Howe, a meteorologist at the Meteorological Bureau.
On Tuesday, heavy rain warnings continued in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. The warning also extended to the Hunter Valley along the north coast of Sydney.
The worst floods were along the Hawkesbury-Nepian River system along the north and west fringes of Sydney.
"The good news is that by tomorrow afternoon it looks almost dry, but of course people say that these floods remain very high even after the rain stops. "Reminds me," Howe said.
"It rained a lot overnight, and it actually sees some rivers peak again, so to see these floods begin to recede. It can take days, if not a week, "how added.
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South Residents of Lansvale in the west, Sydney, were amazed at the rate at which their area was flooded and the increasing frequency of such floods.
"Well, it happened in 1986 and 1988, but it didn't happen for 28 years, so it happened in 2016 and 2020, four times this year," said a local in Lansvale. Identified only as Terry. He told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television that his house was flooded.
Stormy weather and mountainous waters along the New South Wales coast hampered plans to tow a damaged cargo ship with a crew of 21 for the safety of the open ocean.
The ship departed from the port of Wollongong in southern Sydney on Monday morning, followed by a power outage, risking an 8 meter (26 ft) swell and a 30 knot (34 mph) wind blowing on the cliff. I attacked.
Attempts to tow a ship into the open sea with a tugboat ended when the towing line snapped into an 11-meter (36-foot) swell at the end of Monday, said Philip Holiday, Chief Executive Officer of the Port Authority. Said.
The ship maintained its position farther from the coast on Tuesday with the help of two anchors and two tugs. The original plan was for the ship's crew to repair the engine at sea. The new plan was to tow the ship to Sydney when weather and sea conditions settled as early as Wednesday, Holiday said.
"We are in a better position than yesterday," Holiday said. "We are relatively safe."
Perotet described the reaction of the tugboat crew on Monday to save the ship as "heroic."
"I would like to thank those men and women who were on their crew last night for the heroic work they did in an incredibly dangerous situation. Having a (36-foot) swell and experiencing and performing the job is incredibly impressive, "said Perotet.
— McGuirk was reported by Canberra, Australia.
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