On Sunday, Australian emergency services issued flood evacuation orders for neighborhoods outside of Sydney as river levels rose as a result of days of intense rain. Over the course of 24 hours, authorities in the eastern state of New South Wales reported 28 flood rescues, several for motorists who attempted to navigate flooded highways.
According to NSW State Emergency Service Commissioner Carlene York, “It is quite dangerous out there on our highways and we are witnessing a lot of flash flooding and obviously the rivers are continuing to rise.”
The emergency agency reported that 12 flood evacuation orders were in effect for low-lying neighborhoods on the western edges of Sydney and other regions of New South Wales.
About 20 other at-risk communities of the state received warnings to get ready to leave or to isolate themselves as the rivers rose.
The amount of rain has decreased, but flood waters are still supplying swollen rivers inland and along the central New South Wales coast, according to the state’s bureau of meteorology.
Since records began in 1858, the city of Sydney has already had its wettest year.
More than 20 people lost their lives in a flooding disaster on Australia’s east coast in March, which was brought on by powerful storms that devastated Queensland and New South Wales sections.
When floods in July once more inundated outlying suburbs, tens of thousands of Sydney residents were told to leave.