Parts of Australia declare a natural disaster during ‘once every 100 years’ floods

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Rain has been inundating communities since Thursday, but parts of the east coast went into crisis on Saturday when a large dam overflowed, contributing to swollen rivers and triggering flash floods.

The NSW and the federal government have signed 16 natural disaster statements in areas spanning the central and mid-north coasts, from Hunter Valley near Sydney to Coff’s Harbor, NSW emergency services minister David Elliott said in a news conference on Sunday.

No deaths have yet been reported, but, Elliott warned, “we are getting closer to the inevitable fatal accident.”

“We cannot say it enough: don’t put yourself in danger, endanger the agencies that are there to assist you in the event of a flood rescue,” he said.

Some families were forced to evacuate in the middle of the night as rivers rose to dangerous levels and 4,000 more people – mostly in the Hawkesbury area – may need to be evacuated on Sunday, Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian said at the news conference.

A rescue worker helps residents cross a flooded road in western Sydney on March 20

“This is not as we have seen since the 1960s,” said Berejiklian. In parts of the state that have been hit harder, this is an event of the century; in other regions, such as the Hawkesbury area, it’s a “one-in-50-year” event, she said.

As of Thursday, the state emergency response service (SES) has responded to 7,000 calls for assistance and carried out more than 750 rescues. Thousands of relief workers and volunteers are still on the ground to help detained residents.

Photos show half-flooded backyards and houses and roads flooded knee-deep. In the town of Taree in the center of the north, residents rescued a cow struggling to survive in rough water; In the neighborhood, an entire house was swept away by the raging floodwaters, according to CNN partner Seven News.
Residents watch the swollen Nepean River during heavy rains in western Sydney on March 20.

Berejiklian urged residents to follow local guidelines, stay off roads and, if necessary, heed evacuation orders – even for those living in flood prone areas and who may have experienced flooding before. “This is different,” she warned. “What we’re going through is different from what you’ve been through for the past 50 years. So please take it seriously.”

Authorities do not yet know how many homes or infrastructure have been lost, but “the damage is significant,” she said.

The statement of a natural disaster could be expanded further up the coast if damage increases, Elliott said. The statement enables those affected to receive financial support, including home damage recovery, subsidies for affected livestock or agriculture, and low- or zero-interest loans.

The whole house drifts away as flash floods ravage Australia's east coast

Heavy rains are expected to continue for the next week, with a rain belt expected to pass through the state from the west, bringing significant rainfall on the northern inland and northwest slopes, said Agata Imielska of the agency. of Meteorology. In the hardest hit areas, rainfall totals could fall more than four times the March monthly average in just two days.

Wednesday is the first day of delay, with rains expected to turn into showers.

But the clean-up operation will take many more weeks, said deputy commissioner of SES Daniel Austin, according to CNN partner Nine News. Teams on the ground expect operations to continue “well beyond Easter,” and it will take some time for river levels to recede. “We are looking at some very long and protracted surgeries,” he said.

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