Status: 13.10.2022 1:29 p.m
Heavy rain has caused water levels to rise in south-east Australia and led to flooding. Dozens of residents were asked to evacuate their homes. Mainly affected are Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales.
Heavy rainfall has again led to flooding in south-eastern Australia. On the Australian island of Tasmania and in the state of Victoria, dozens of people were rescued from or even from the floods, the AAP news agency reported. New South Wales is also affected. The water rose in the rivers. AAP reports that there have been isolated landslides.
For areas in northwest Tasmania, authorities have issued evacuation orders for residents as river levels rise. In the town of Railton, rising water masses threatened around 90 houses. The authorities there warned of flash floods. The situation is changing very quickly, said emergency services director Leon Smith.
In Victoria, authorities have urged people in low-lying areas to move to higher elevations. In southern Victoria, rescue workers had to bring at least five people to safety.
Power outage in Melbourne
According to the AAP, almost 10,000 households in the metropolis of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, were without electricity during the night. Photos showed cars up to their hoods in water. Victoria’s Prime Minister Daniel Andrews called for people not to drive or walk through the floodwaters.
A flood gauge near Strathfieldsaye : Victoria is on alert due to heavy rains and flooding.
Image: dpa
People in the Forbes region should leave their homes
In parts of New South Wales, civil protection also called for houses to be abandoned, for example in the particularly vulnerable area around Forbes west of Sydney. A high of 10.60 meters was expected for Friday.
In the short term, there is no all-clear in sight. Partly heavy rain is to be expected until at least Friday. In the Australian states of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, it has rained above average for months. The floor is saturated.
Floods, fires – climate change
Australia’s east coast has been hit by exceptionally heavy rain and flooding on several occasions this year. At the beginning of July, areas in the city of Sydney in the state of New South Wales were flooded meters high. In March, too, there were heavy floods around the metropolis and in large parts of New South Wales and Queensland.
A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from February 2022 assumes that Australia will be hit by devastating natural events even more frequently in the future. Stronger heat, more dangerous fires, more droughts and floods, higher sea levels and drier winters are to be expected.