Australia floods intensify, and the authorities evacuate thousands of Sydney residents
Heavy rain continued to fall on Australia's east coast on Tuesday, adding to the severity of flooding in Sydney as thousands more residents were ordered to evacuate overnight as rivers quickly rose above danger levels.
New South Wales Minister of Emergency Management Steve Cook said about 50,000 residents in the state, mostly in Sydney's western suburbs, had either been asked to evacuate or had been warned that they could receive evacuation orders, up from 30,000 on Monday.
He added that the latest batch of strong storms in Sydney is likely to subside during the course of Tuesday, but the risk of flooding may remain during the week given that most of the rivers' catchment levels were already at their highest levels even before the last storm.
The Met Office said that the area of Windsor in western Sydney is experiencing severe flooding, the third flood in the region this year, with current water levels higher than seen in the flood early this year.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news