Flood-weary residents in southeast Australia have been urged to remain on high alert for major flooding over the weekend, authorities said Friday, as swollen rivers continued to flow downstream despite an improvement in severe weather conditions.
Relentless rain for three days through Monday has wreaked havoc across the south-west of the largest state, New South Wales, cutting off entire rural towns, some in the wheat belt region, for the second time this month and prompting the evacuation of Hundreds of people on the roofs.
Eastern Australia has been ravaged by frequent flooding over the past two years due to a multi-year La Niña weather event, usually associated with increased rainfall. Some regions have suffered four major flood crises since last year.
Tempers flared after a resident of Eugowra, one of the hardest-hit towns, confronted state Premier Dominic Perrottet during a tour of the affected areas, TV footage showed, blaming authorities for the hit. slow relief and late warnings.
“We had no food, no clothes, no one said what was going to happen next because there was no one here. What is your response to any of that before we continue,” resident Peter Jones was heard asking Perrottet.
“That’s not good enough,” Perrottet responded, to which Jones said: “That’s not an answer.”
Clear skies returned earlier this week, but emergency crews said the danger had not yet passed.
“There remains a significant risk,” NSW Emergency Services Chief Superintendent Ashley Sullivan told ABC television. “We will see a significant impact in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
Emergency crews on Friday morning resumed the search for two men believed to be missing in the floods.
Forbes, home to around 8,000, could remain flooded for at least the next three days, Sullivan said, as the Lachlan River reached its highest point in nearly 70 years.
Further down the road, in Condobolin, with a population of around 3,000, residents are bracing for record flooding. In Hay, the Murrumbidgee River exceeded levels reached during the 1974 floods, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
