- Three people have died as a result of the flooding in the state of News South Wales. Another victim was also recovered in Queensland, where ten people have died so far.
- Hundreds of people in the state of New South Wales were still on the roofs of their houses on Monday evening (local time) waiting for help, and over 50,000 houses were without power.
- The trigger for the extreme weather is a slowly moving low pressure area – the weather service warns of “gigantic” hail and “destructive” gusts of wind.
In view of the dramatic situation in many areas, the authorities expected further deaths. “Realistically, we know that we may see more deaths in the coming days,” said New South Wales Deputy Premier Paul Toole. “This is a catastrophic event.”
Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg described the situation as “life-threatening”. More than 15,000 people in the region have already been brought to safety from the floods. “We’ve never seen anything like it around here,” the Australian news agency AAP quoted the mayor as saying.
The trigger for the extreme weather is a low-pressure area that is only moving slowly. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke of a “crisis situation” and wanted to consult with the country’s emergency authorities on how to proceed. He promised those affected financial and logistical support. According to the media, desperate scenes played out. Many Australians were in tears.
No relaxation of the situation in sight
The emergency services continued to work tirelessly to help people in need. Hundreds of schools remained closed and roads were closed. There was still no all-clear.
Meteorologists predicted further heavy rain with possible flooding, especially for the region around the largest Australian city Sydney and for the south-east of Queensland. The Queensland Weather Service warned on Twitter of “large to gigantic hail” and “possibly destructive gusts of wind”.
Australia is particularly hard hit by climate change. In mid-January, large parts of Down Under were still sweating under a merciless heat bell. In the west of the country, values of more than 50 degrees were recorded in some cases.