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Heavy rains, floods prompt evacuations of Sydney suburbs | AP News

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  perrie-halpern  •  2 years ago  •  5 comments

By:   AP NEWS

Heavy rains, floods prompt evacuations of Sydney suburbs | AP News
SYDNEY (AP) — Thousands of residents in Sydney suburbs were told to evacuate their homes on Sunday after heavy rains caused floodwaters to rise and rivers to overflow in what authorities called life-threatening emergencies.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



SYDNEY (AP) — Thousands of residents in Sydney suburbs were told to evacuate their homes on Sunday after heavy rains caused floodwaters to rise and rivers to overflow in what authorities called life-threatening emergencies.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for heavy rain and flash floods and winds of up to 90 kilometers (55 miles) per hour along the coast of Australia's most populous city and other parts of New South Wales state.

Authorities said that Warragamba Dam in western Sydney began overflowing overnight and the peak spill would be comparable to devastating flooding in March last year.

Residents in a number of suburbs have been ordered to evacuate, but Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said people don't need to wait to be told to leave.

"If you are feeling uncomfortable or unsure about your circumstances, and there is an opportunity for you to leave earlier, don't necessarily wait for an evacuation order," she said. "If you were safe in 2021 do not assume you will be safe tonight. This is a rapidly evolving situation and we could see areas impacted that we haven't seen before."

Emergency services said they conducted over 100 flood rescues and responded to over 3,000 requests for assistance in the past 24 hours. Evacuation centers have opened in several areas in western Sydney.

About 100 Australian Defense Force personnel were helping by putting up sandbags and knocking on doors to warn of flood threats.

The weather bureau's hazards preparation and response manager Jane Golding said a coastal trough lingering since Friday deepened while an east coast low-pressure system formed off the Mid North Coast.

"That's produced some extraordinary rainfall rates over the last 24 hours ... many locations have seen up to 200 mm and some close to 300 mm," she said. The volume of rainfall is almost half of Sydney's annual average.

People were told to avoid any non-essential travel, including on public transport, with some roads already underwater and others at risk of sudden flash flooding.

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Kavika
Professor Principal
1  Kavika     2 years ago

My grandkids live 3 hours southwest of Sydney, heavy rain but no flooding.

 
 
 
Waykwabu
Freshman Silent
2  Waykwabu    2 years ago

First  we have horrific bushfires, and now an unprecedented series of terrible floods.   Climate change is the only thing I put it down to !

 
 
 
bccrane
Freshman Silent
2.1  bccrane  replied to  Waykwabu @2    2 years ago

We had flooding rain May of 2020, in fact they called it the 500 year flood, 30 inches of lake effect snow in a day in February 2021, Germany had flooding rain in 2021, and now Sydney, Australia, what do all these locations have in common, large nearby wind turbine farms.

 
 
 
Waykwabu
Freshman Silent
2.1.1  Waykwabu  replied to  bccrane @2.1    2 years ago

Interesting, something I have not thought of before.  Though not having a scientific brain, I find it difficult to see how wind turbines could affect the weather.  Here in Victoria, 1000 - 2000 kms from the  current events, we have large wind turbine farms but not the weather events experienced in NSW & QLD.    But maybe that's for the future

 
 
 
bccrane
Freshman Silent
2.1.2  bccrane  replied to  Waykwabu @2.1.1    2 years ago

It's called conservation of energy, whatever energy the wind turbine farms produce is what the atmosphere lost.  Energy in the atmosphere is what causes the wind and also keeps moisture suspended in the atmosphere, so in the wake of the farms moisture precipitates out in a shorter distance causing more localized flooding events.

 
 

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