Sydney, Oct 10 (BNA): Heavy rains fell across eastern Australia on Monday, bringing little relief to flood-weary residents, but authorities warned that another intense weather system could hit several inland regions, bringing more torrential rains and causing flash floods.
Northern Victoria, southern New South Wales (NSW) and northern Tasmania should brace for extensive rain of up to 100 mm (4 inches), about a quarter of Australia’s annual average, over two days from late Wednesday, the Met Office said ( BoM) said.
“It’s another big event…so we’re likely to see moderate and possibly significant flooding,” Dean Naramore, forecast expert at the BoM exchange told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday.
Even as blue skies return to many places, there are still more than 100 flood warnings across NSW, the state worst hit by the latest rain event that began last week forcing many to flee their homes, inundating roads and farms.
“Just because the rain has stopped doesn’t mean the threat has subsided because the water is heading into our rivers and streams,” Naramor said.
Evacuation warnings were issued over the weekend for many residents in the state’s rural interior as well as in the northwest suburbs of Windsor and north of Sydney’s Richmond.
“In remote New South Wales, they will be on alert for the next few days as we wait for another major system to arrive on Wednesday through Friday,” NSW Emergency Services Minister Steve Cook said.
La Nina has dominated Australia’s east coast weather, bringing more rain, leading to frequent flooding since early 2021 and the Met Office predicts the phenomenon is likely to occur for a rare third year in a row.
Many dams and rivers are already full in the states of New South Wales and Victoria, which are home to more than half of Australia’s 26 million people, and more falls through saturated land increases the risk of flash floods.
MI