By Renju Jose
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Torrential rains kept battering Australia’s east coast on Tuesday, intensifying the floods crisis in Sydney as thousands more residents were ordered to leave their homes overnight after rivers swiftly rose past danger levels.
About 50,000 residents in New South Wales, the bulk in Sydney’s western suburbs, have been told to either evacuate or warned they might receive evacuation orders, up from Monday’s 30,000, state Emergency Management Minister Steph Cooke said.
An intense low-pressure system off Australia’s east coast brought heavy rains with several places receiving about a month’s worth since Saturday.
The latest wild storm cell is likely to ease in Sydney on Tuesday, Cooke told local television, but the risk of flooding could remain through the week as most river catchments were already near full capacity even before the latest storm.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Cooke said.
The federal government late on Monday declared the floods a natural disaster, helping flood-hit residents receive emergency funding support.
Emergency crews will continue their rescue operation on Tuesday to tow a bulk carrier ship that lost power off the coast of Sydney after tow lines broke in severe weather, officials said.
Major flooding is occurring at Windsor in Sydney’s west, which is going through its third flood this year, with current water levels higher than seen in the deluge early this year, the weather bureau said.
Footage on social media showed submerged roads and bridges, while emergency crews rescued stranded people from partially-submerged vehicles that became stuck in rising waters.
Nigel Myron, a Windsor resident, said he has kept an inflatable boat ready if he had to evacuate though he is looking to move back to his place once waters recede.
“At the end of the day, what can you do? It is what it is and we dust ourselves off from the ashes and rebuild after the floods have come and gone,” Myron told ABC television.
(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by David Gregorio)
