Floods in Australia: Thousands in Sydney evacuated amid record rains

The east coast of Australia is being hit by record rainfall, with flood warnings and a natural disaster for parts of the most populous state, New South Wales (NSW).

Details: NSW Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian said at a news conference on Sunday in western Sydney that she was facing a flood event that had not been seen for half a century while some parts of the north coast they faced an “event of one in 100 years.”

• Thousands are under evacuation orders in NSW. “4,000 people may be asked to evacuate in and around … parts of western Sydney,” Berejiklian added.
• NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott told a news session on Sunday that 16 declarations of natural disasters had been issued in NSW, and that there could be more.

Note: Finance Minister Simon Birmingham told Sky News on Sunday that the floods would affect the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine. “It is clear that there will be expected disruptions for many logistics and freight movements in New South Wales as a result of these floods,” he said.

What they say: Agata Imielska, of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), told reporters that the north and north-west coast regions of NSW had already seen record rainfall on Saturday to almost eight centimeters.

• “It’s a very significant and record-breaking event with the rainfall we’ve seen,” Imielska said.
• Although no deaths had been reported from the floods, Elliott said “we are getting closer and closer to inevitable fatality.”

The big picture: Much of Australia is being hit by heavy rains or under heavy weather warnings. The state of Queensland was also at risk by rapid flooding, with 4.5 centimeters of rain in some parts on Sunday.

• Central Australia, usually dry, was another region facing flood threats due to heavy rains.

Flashback: A year ago, Australia was worn out by catastrophic forest fires.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with new details everywhere.