Roughly 50,000 people have been told to evacuate their homes, as terrible floods hit Australia's largest city, for the third time this year.
Residents in the state of New South Wales (NSW), most in Sydney’s western suburbs, were told to either evacuate on Tuesday or warned they might receive evacuation orders, authorities said.
Parts of Sydney have received about eight months of rain in four days. Roads have been cut off, some houses are underwater and thousands have been left without power.
Days of torrential rain have caused dams to overflow and waterways to break their banks, bringing a fourth flood emergency in 16 months to parts of the city of 5 million people.
The New South Wales state government declared a disaster across 23 local government areas overnight, activating federal government financial assistance for flood victims.
Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke credited the skill and commitment of rescue crews for preventing any death or serious injury by the fourth day of the flooding emergency.
'Emergency is far from being over'
Parts of southern Sydney had been lashed by more than 20 centimeters (nearly 8 inches) of rain in 24 hours, more than 17% of the city’s annual average, Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Jonathan How said.
Severe weather warnings of heavy rain remained in place across Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Tuesday. The warnings also extended north of Sydney along the coast and into the Hunter Valley.
The worst flooding was along the Hawkesbury-Nepean river system along Sydney’s northern and western fringes.
The downpour is expected to begin easing in Sydney on Tuesday, but gale-force winds are also forecast, bringing a risk of falling trees and powerlines.
"The emergency is far from over," NSW Emergency Services Minister Stephanie Cooke said.
La Niña effect
Widespread flooding across Australia - driven by a La Niña weather pattern - has killed more than 20 people this year, many in New South Wales (NSW).
More than 100 evacuation orders have been issued across Greater Sydney for the current emergency.
People in another 50 areas have been warned to prepare to leave, as several major rivers flood. Severe weather is also hitting the nearby Hunter and Illawarra regions.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the wild weather, which began over the weekend, was likely to ease in Sydney from Tuesday as the coastal trough moves north, but the risk of flooding could remain through the week as most river catchments had already been near capacity even before the latest deluge.
Weather scuttles attempt to tow ship
Meanwhile, New South Wales Port Authority chief executive captain Philip Holliday said rescue efforts to save a distressed cargo ship could go on for several days.
The 169-metre (555 feet) ship, carrying 21 crew and a cargo of fuel oil, lost its engine in a heavy storm featuring 11-metre (36 feet) swells and began to drift towards rocky coastal cliffs. The ship was briefly rescued by a tugboat that managed to pull it towards the open on Monday before an 11-metre tow-line snapped during the storm, according to Holliday.
The ship was maintaining its position Tuesday farther from the coast than it had been on Monday with two anchors and the help of two tugboats. The original plan had been for the ship’s crew to repair their engine at sea. The new plan was to tow the ship to Sydney when weather and sea conditions calmed as early as Wednesday.
(with inputs from agencies)
