Heavy rains along Australia's east coast over the weekend have brought the worst flooding in half a century in some areas, forcing thousands to evacuate and damaging hundreds of houses, authorities said.
People in parts of Sydney`s northwest were ordered to flee their houses in the middle of the night. Flooding risk and evacuation warnings were in place for about 12 areas in New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state with 8 million people, with rivers swelling and rain accumulation posing danger.
Television and social media footage showed fast-moving water unmooring houses, engulfing roads, breaking trees and damaging road infrastructure. Emergency services estimate the total number of damaged houses to be "in the hundreds".
Meteorologists said the downpour is set to continue for the rest of Sunday, with some areas expected to get up to 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rain.