Authorities have put out severe warnings about extreme rainfalls in flooded towns of Australia over the weekend. The flooded towns are located in the east of Australia. The rains are likely to hamper relief efforts as military forces attempt to reach the hardest-hit communities. They have been shut off by days of downpours.
A wild weather system that dumped more than a year’s worth of rain in various locations throughout southern Queensland and northern New South Wales over a week caused widespread devastation; displacing thousands of people and destroying homes, livestock, and roadways.
13 lives lost
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) predicted a fresh weather system might bring another round of severe rainfall starting Sunday in Sydney.
“That is not good news for us here in eastern New South Wales and for much of the state … things are already saturated,” BoM meteorologist Dean Narramore said during a media briefing on Friday.
Australia’s east coast summer has been going through the La Nina weather pattern. The La Nina pattern includes increased rainfall across much of Australia, cooler daytime temperatures in the south of the tropics, etc. Several rivers are already nearing capacity before the recent downpour after continuous rains over the last two weeks. However, thunderstorms and isolated heavy showers will continue to pose a threat, according to emergency services.
“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,” Carlene York, state emergency service commissioner, said.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Australians go back to their homes and work to clean the debris after the rains stop. On Friday, hundreds of troops and emergency crews will help spearhead rescue attempts in Lismore. It is a town in northern New South Wales that is suffering from major historic floods.
