SYDNEY: Torrential rain pummelled Australia’s east coast on Thursday (Apr 7) with Sydney receiving nearly a month’s rain overnight, submerging the city’s roads in flash floods and triggering evacuations as authorities warn of more rain through the day.
A man swept away by floodwaters in the city’s northwest was rescued by emergency crews, media reported, while footage on social media showed vehicles struggling to cross waterlogged streets, fallen trees and debris floating in rivers.
Residents of a nursing home were evacuated overnight as emergency crews urged Sydney’s 5 million residents to avoid unnecessary travel and brace for possible evacuation orders.
Overflow from a fuel pit at a site owned by oil refiner Ampol in Sydney’s south caused oil to mix with flood waters but emergency crews said the spill has been contained and that there was no risk of danger in the area.
Sydney has received 1,226.8 mm of rain so far this year, more than its average annual rainfall of 1,213 mm. The tourist hot spot of Bondi recorded around 170 mm over the 24-hour period to 9am Thursday, the weather bureau said. Over the next 24 hours, Sydney could get up to 180 mm of rain, the bureau said.
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