Status: 02/28/2022 09:09 a.m
Heavy rains have exacerbated the floods in Australia, the death toll has risen to eight. In Lismore people are stuck on roofs, dikes are broken. Anyone who can should leave the city.
In Australia, heavy rains have further exacerbated severe flooding in the east of the country. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said many people, especially around the city of Lismore in the state of New South Wales, had fled the rapidly rising water masses to the roofs of their houses and were waiting there for help. He spoke of a “crisis situation” and wants to discuss how to proceed with the country’s emergency authorities later in the day.
More than 400 millimeters of rain fell in the Lismore area in 24 hours. Because the levees broke, authorities asked the 43,000 residents to leave the city. The emergency services received numerous calls for help.
Mayor Steve Krieg described the situation as “unprecedented” and “life-threatening.” More than 15,000 people in the region were evacuated to safety from the floods. “We’ve never seen anything like it around here,” the Australian news agency AAP quoted the mayor as saying. Using online networks, Krieg asked for help for residents stuck on roofs. “If anyone has a boat and can come to Engine Street, there is a pregnant woman sitting on her roof. Please help,” he wrote on Facebook.
Eight people died
Floods had also recently occurred in Australia’s largest city, Sydney, and according to meteorologists, it was the wettest summer in the metropolis in 30 years.
In the state of Queensland, the death toll rose to eight. Police say three people are still missing. A man was recently killed when his car was swept away by the floodwaters.
The metropolis of Brisbane and the cities of Gympie and Maryborough as well as areas along the Sunshine Coast were particularly badly affected. In some areas it rained as much in a few days as it normally does in a whole year, it said. Tens of thousands of buildings were damaged or destroyed by the “catastrophic floods”. More than 50,000 homes were without power. Hundreds of schools remained closed, public transport such as buses, trains and ferries stopped operating.
“Life-threatening flash floods” warning
The Australian Meteorological Service warned that “life-threatening flash floods” threatened much of the coast due to further severe thunderstorms and intense rain. In total, millions of Australians have been asked to stay at home.
Australia’s east coast has been experiencing torrential downpours for almost a week, flooding homes and streets and sweeping cars away. The trigger for the extreme weather is a low-pressure area that is only moving slowly.
Australia is particularly hard hit by climate change. In mid-January, large parts of the country were still suffering from a relentless heatwave. In the west of the country, values of more than 50 degrees were recorded in some cases.