Australia’s contingency response system has ordered the evacuation of 200.000 people following record-breaking flooding across its east coast in which 13 people died.
A wild weather system that caused more than a year’s worth of deluges of rain at two locations across southern Queensland and northern New South Wales over a week has caused widespread devastation, displacing thousands of people and sweeping away belongings, cattle and roads.
Thirteen people had been killed since the beginning of the flooding.
Evacuation warnings for flooding have been downgraded in Sydney, Australia’s largest city, but the Bureau of Weather Service (BoM) said a new weather system could carry a fresh round of heavy rains from Sunday.
Domeci Perriat from New South Wales previously said the state was under water and many people woke up to see it happen.
The Australian east coast summer has been dominated by a La Nina weather pattern typically linked to rising rainfall, with many rivers near full even before the very recent surge of rain experienced by the state in recent weeks.
Emergency services have warned of thunderstorms and scattered heavy showers, carrying further risks.
“We’ve not passed the danger period yet. The rivers are very high, fast flowing, there’s a lot of debris and it’s dangerous out there,” said Carlene York, commissioner of the State’s Disaster Control Department.
