The east coast of Australia is again hit by massive flooding after heavy rains.
The situation is particularly bad in the greater Sydney area, where there were evacuation orders for 30,000 people in places around the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers early Monday morning (local time).
Hundreds of residents requested help during the night, the local emergency services said.
Citizens in many more areas have been urged to prepare to leave their homes.
"I know it's the school holidays right now, but please reconsider your travel plans," emergency services spokesman Ashley Sullivan told ABC.
"If you don't have to leave your home, then stay there if it's safe to do so."
The heavy rain around Sydney has been going on for days.
The media quoted the weather services as saying that it had fallen four times as much rain as usual in the whole month of July.
According to meteorologists, there was initially no improvement in sight.
In March, there were devastating floods in Sydney and large parts of New South Wales and Queensland.
In just three months, the metropolis with the famous opera house, which is popular with tourists from all over the world, fell as much as usual in a whole year.
Many regions are still suffering from the destruction of the historical floods and are now being hit by floods again.
Meanwhile, a cargo ship is stranded in heavy seas off the south coast of Sydney.
The Hong Kong-registered "Portland Bay" had left Wollongong in the morning, but shortly afterwards experienced a complete power outage.
A large-scale rescue operation was underway to prevent the ship from being pushed against the cliffs in high seas.
Attempts to rescue the 21-person crew from the air had to be abandoned due to the adverse weather conditions.
A tugboat was underway to pull the ship away from shore.