Sydney, Australia’s most populous city drenched in rain over several days, braced itself for more heavy rains on Sunday as floods in the eastern parts of the country brought to 17 the death toll.
Queensland, where 11 people died in floods last week, also experienced severe thunderstorm and flood warnings.
Flash flooding is predicted for the metropolitan Brisbane region of 2.6 million people.
Flood warnings in place for Queensland and NSW
The death toll from flooding in NSW has risen to five after the body of a man was found on Saturday.
Some locals have criticised the government’s response, saying there are not enough emergency staff to support the rescue effort.
Tom Wolff, who runs a local charity, said he collected insulin donations on Saturday, which came in a privately chartered helicopter flown to diabetic residents in the nearby town of Woodburn.
On Sunday, Defence Minister Minister Peter Dutton said he was “extremely satisfied” with the defence response.
