Heavy floods in Australia: “Listen to the warnings”

Weeks of rain have caused devastating floods on Australia’s east coast. In Sydney, tens of thousands of people had to leave their homes. The government declared a national emergency for the region.

Dominic Perrotet, Prime Minister of the Australian state of New South Wales, to which the metropolis of Sydney belongs, makes clear statements: “During this time, if there is an evacuation warning, prepare to leave your house. And if there is an evacuation order there, then follow him, evacuate.”

40,000 people had to leave their homes

Currently, 20,000 people are on these warnings and 40,000 people in Sydney’s suburbs have already had to evacuate their homes. Flash floods are on the way, rivers are threatening to overflow, a dam in northern Sydney is leaking but not yet breached – all adding to the danger.

Almost all the dams around Sydney are 100 percent full, and even after weeks the rain on the east coast of Australia does not stop.

“The Danger Doesn’t End”

Anyone who is currently navigating around the Sydney area on their mobile phone will immediately receive numerous warning messages, references to the websites of weather services, rescue services, evacuation areas, emergency accommodation or the missing persons register.

“The danger does not stop,” says Carlene York, head of the emergency services SES. “Whoever is currently on the streets: There is still heavy rain and it is easy to get caught in the rivers: Because the ground can no longer absorb rain, the waters can continue to rise.”

Water can rise in minutes

The streets become raging rivers, cars are up to their roofs in water, drivers try to steer their vehicles through flooded sections of road and get stuck. If they are lucky they will be rescued, but the water can rise from ankle deep to shoulder high in a matter of minutes.

A mother and her adult son were found dead on Tuesday. Your car was torn by the water masses in a flood channel – so far 20 people have died in the floods.

“The risk of flash flooding is great, heed the warnings, recognize the danger,” York said.

“La Nina” period and climate change

Where does all the water come from, people ask, the rain stops and doesn’t stop. “For one thing, we’re in the ‘La Nina’ period right now,” explains Simon Bradshaw, research director at the Climate Council Australia. “That means the surface temperature of the tropical Pacific brings more warm, humid air to Australia, more clouds and more rain, plus there’s a special combination of weather systems, notably a strong low-pressure system with lots of rain, and all of this is being exacerbated by climate change. “

It sounds like the biblical plagues: Many of the affected areas are already experiencing the third flood in a row. Previously, forest fires and years of drought had ravaged them. The frequency of extreme weather phenomena is increased by the climate crisis.

Government sticks to coal, oil and gas

But Australia’s government is not prepared to deviate from its line: coal, oil and gas – new coal mines and power plants are still being approved.

Bradshaw says: “All of our weather is happening in the context of climate change, our whole reality has been altered by the burning of coal, oil and gas. The atmosphere is hotter, it’s wetter, it holds more moisture. And there’s more energy that powers these powerful storms that lead to these destructive rains.”

Everything as experts have been explaining it for decades, says Bradshaw. The extreme weather is increasing. But Australia’s government is sticking to its line.