Heavy flooding continues to lash Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, as residents are constantly threatened with erratic seasonal swings. The floods, which have become a “new normal,” threaten to submerge areas that have already experienced several flooding events this year.
Many are still recovering from the last flood in March, when water swamped many of the same areas, forcing businesses to shutter and rescuers to wade through mud to help trapped residents.
Since Sunday, almost 30,000 residents have been told to evacuate or have been warned of evacuation orders in the very near future.
The event caused $4.8 billion in damage, making it the country’s third most expensive disaster ever, according to the Insurance Council of Australia.
Frustration swelled in several suburbs in the west of Australia’s largest city after floods submerged homes, farms, and bridges there, some for the third time this year.
“It’s just devastating. We are in disbelief,” Camden Mayor Theresa Fedeli said.
The major contributing factor to this perpetual issue is believed to be climate change, the Climate Council said, adding Australia is “under-prepared”.
“Most of them have just come out of the last flood, getting their homes back in place, their businesses back in place and unfortunately we are saying it is happening again.”
Federal emergency management minister Murray Watt said climate change must be taken “seriously” due to the frequent occurrence of floods.
“The reality is we are living in a changing climate,” Watt told ABC television.
The horrible weather has delayed Monday’s scheduled launch of a NASA rocket from the Arnhem Space Centre by over 24 hours, said a spokesperson from Equatorial Launch Australia.
Footage on social media showed homes, cars, and street signs partially submerged while garbage bins floated down flooded roads. Military vehicles were seen going into flooded streets to evacuate stranded families.
Over half a meter of rain has drenched parts of eastern New South Wales during the last 48 hours, spills from numerous dams causing flood warnings across the region.
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