Evacuations Top 18,000 In "Phenomenal" Australian Rains; Flood Plain Development Swelling Damages
SYDNEY — Devastating flooding is ongoing across Australia, where an area the size of Alaska with some 10 million people is at risk for excessive rainfall and storminess. The flooding comes amid colliding weather systems gripping the country. Up to 35 inches of rain fell in just four days, and some places are seeing their worst flooding in 60 years.
Nearly three times the average March rainfall has fallen in a number of locales, which Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology described as “phenomenal,” with additional rain and flooding expected in the days ahead. Hardest hit has been eastern Australia, including Sydney and New South Wales, areas afflicted by rampant wildfires in late 2019 into 2020. Over 10 million acres burned and dozens died in the blazes.
EDIT
Link to tweet
EDIT
The Associated Press reported that the floodwaters had isolated 35 communities in New South Wales and that emergency services had conducted more than 700 rescues. Experts have warned of the likelihood for a flood catastrophe of this magnitude for years. Scientists and urban planners pointed to successive governments approving the construction of more houses in flood-prone areas during an era of shifting climate.
“The impact of the floods in the Hawkesbury-Nepean valley is due to poor governance rather than any act of God,” said Jamie Pittock, a professor from the Fenner School of Environment & Society at the Australian National University. “Extreme floods have been recorded in the valley since the earliest years of British occupation over two centuries ago. And now climate change is likely to increase the frequency of dangerous floods.”
EDIT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/03/22/australia-flooding-evacuations-extreme-weather/