Umweather
Extreme rain floods residential areas in Sydney
Record rainfall in Sydney and parts of New South Wales has caused flooding and widespread damage, prompting authorities to order evacuation measures for some communities. photo
© Tim Seaton/AAP/dpa
For two nights in a row, it rained more than usual in a month on Australia’s east coast. In Sydney, the most important dam is overflowing and residents have to be rescued from flooded houses.
Another night of extreme rain in the Australian coastal metropolis Sydney flooded entire streets and caused significant damage. The Warragamba dam, which is responsible for supplying drinking water to the city of over a million people, overflowed and, according to authorities, other dams should reach their limit during the day.
Several bridges were closed and residents in low-lying residential areas were asked to get themselves and their belongings to safety. In more than 150 cases, residents of the state of New South Wales had to be rescued from their houses or cars trapped by the water, as the civil protection agency announced – half of them in the capital region of Sydney.
As much rain in 24 hours as usual in a month
The day before, the highest amount of precipitation in two years had been recorded in the east coast metropolis – almost as much rain fell within 24 hours as the average for the entire month of April. The ground was already saturated, and the following night things got even worse: By morning, another 100 to 200 millimeters, and in some places even more than 250 millimeters, had fallen.
For comparison: The German Weather Service speaks of heavy rain from 20 millimeters within six hours; more than 60 millimeters is described as “extreme storm”. In Sydney, many times this amount came from the sky.
More than 4,000 volunteers
According to civil protection, more than 4,000 volunteers supported the authorities in the rescue and clean-up work. There were massive disruptions in local public transport, with many trains, buses and ferries standing still. Landslides occurred locally, and large boulders landed in the middle of roads on slopes. At Sydney Airport, however, operations were largely back to normal after numerous connections were canceled or incoming aircraft were diverted the previous day.
Authorities expect the risk of flooding to continue for days due to water draining from higher ground and dams. The storm is now expected to move further south along the coast. Residents of the southern suburbs braced themselves for an extreme situation similar to that in Sydney.