Sydney, Nov 3 (BUS) – Hundreds of residents in major regional cities across Australia’s most populous states are urged to leave their homes as slow floodwaters flow downstream and the country’s fourth major flood crisis this year enters a second month.
Authorities are urging residents to evacuate from parts of the regional New South Wales cities of Wagga Wagga, Gunneda and Forbes, which together have nearly 90,000 people. Reuters reported that flooding in Forbes, about a 5-hour drive west of Sydney, could reach its highest level in 70 years on Friday.
In Australia’s most populous states, emergency services conducted 15 flood rescues in the 24 hours through Thursday morning. One hundred and four emergency alerts were set.
“It’s a long list of rivers that have been flooded in NSW, with our greatest interest at the moment being the Lachlan River in Forbes,” Ashley Sullivan, senior director of state emergency services, said in a video statement.
“We expect major floods in the next two days, probably equivalent to the 1952 floods in that region,” he added.
Flood-exhausted residents across southeastern Australia are experiencing their fourth major bout of flooding this year. Authorities have announced at least A$2 billion ($1.3 billion) in disaster relief to help thousands of residents repair homes and in some cases relocate from flood-prone areas.
In Victoria on the banks of the Murray River, Australia’s longest river, Echuca residents are still unable to return home as emergency services warn that major flooding that began two weeks ago will continue for at least another week.
Blue skies have replaced rain across much of New South Wales and Victoria with little rain forecast for the weekend. But emergency services are warning that rivers will continue to rise for days as water seeps into already swollen floodwaters and slowly moves downstream.
MI