Europe 1 with AFP 07:28, March 01, 2022
Flood alerts have been issued for dozens of rivers in Australia across the states of Queensland and New South Wales.
Australian authorities have asked tens of thousands of people to evacuate as several rivers have already burst their banks and flooded towns.
Deadly floods rolled down the eastern coast of Australia on Tuesday, forcing residents to take shelter on rooftops and bridges and prompting authorities to ask tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
In total, more than 150,000 people are affected by the evacuation orders, according to an AFP count.
Nine dead according to the latest report
Flood alerts have been issued for dozens of rivers across the states of Queensland and New South Wales, where a "rain bomb" dumped a meter of water in a week in some areas.
Several rivers have already burst their banks and flooded cities, forcing residents to flee or seek refuge at heights.
"We've seen people stranded on rooftops for hours, we've seen children being rescued, we've seen people stranded on bridges," said New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet.
Thousands of people have been rescued and the death toll has risen to nine after police discovered the body of an octogenarian in her county home in the town of Lismore.
In Byron Bay, a resort popular with surfers, Hannah Leser celebrated her wedding this weekend with 150 guests.
But the lovers spent the day after the nuptials rescuing friends stranded in the nearby towns of Ballina and Mullumbimby using a borrowed 4x4.
About thirty people are camping in the house where they were to spend their honeymoon.
"It's chaos, but all our friends and families are safe," she said.
"It's not the honeymoon I was expecting, but that's how it is".
Overwhelmed emergency services
Elsewhere, in a spectacular rescue broadcast live by ABC, a helicopter crew came to pick up two people from the corrugated iron roof of their house, licked by a stream of muddy water.
In Lismore, which has never had a flood of this magnitude, local MP Janelle Saffin had to swim to safety after being stranded by flood waters.
Emergency services were overwhelmed with calls and a flotilla of makeshift boats appeared, with local residents trying to get their neighbors to safety.
Refuges have been established in primary schools, summer camps and retirement clubs.
Near the town of Grafton, the water came up to the level of the roofs of the buildings, the roads were washed out and the cattle wandered abandoned.
Further south, Sydneysiders were experiencing another day of downpours and were being urged to prepare for "major flooding".
Australia has been hit hard by climate change: droughts, deadly bushfires, Great Barrier Reef bleaching events and floods are becoming more frequent and intense due to the evolution of the global climate.