Hundreds rescued from Australia flooding as government declares natural disaster

Nearly 200 rescues have been made since Friday, authorities say

A flooded road is seen in the Sydney suburb of North Narrabeen on 6 April 2024, after heavy rain hit New South Wales state (AFP via Getty Images)

Australian authorities have rescued hundreds of people stranded due to flooding in the eastern state of New South Wales after the region was lashed by nearly a month’s worth of rainfall within 24 hours.

The intense rainfall, which saw around 300 homes evacuated in north-east Sydney, led to the government declaring a natural emergency across NSW.

Sydney received 111mm (4.4 inches) of rainfall over the 24 hours to Friday morning compared to a mean rainfall of 121.5mm for April, marking the region’s seventh flood in the past 18 months.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a “major flood warning” for the Hawkesbury-Nepean and Colo rivers of NSW as large quantities of water made their way to the water catchments following the intense rain.

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) said in a post on X that it received about 2,000 reports of incidents related to flooding and conducted nearly 150 rescues in the last 24 hours.

Nearly 200 rescues have been made since Friday with some regions cut off by damaged or flooded roads, Jihad Dib, the state minister for emergency services, told AFP.

About 5,000 volunteers worked through the night to help those affected, Mr Dib said.

Authorities initiated disaster support to help cover clean-up costs and pay for the emergency accommodation of stranded individuals.

“Floods have caused widespread damage across NSW in a very short amount of time and the Australian and NSW Governments have activated disaster support to begin the clean-up and recovery,” Catherine King, the federal minister for emergency management, posted on X.

“The New South Wales government is continuing to assess the damage and understand the impact of this disaster,” Ms King said.

The Australian government announced plans to help those affected with hundreds of people still under evacuation orders.

Recent studies have found an increase in the intensity of rain from short downpours over Sydney, likely linked to climate change. Scientists have predicted that the atmospheric moisture over Sydney could increase by the end of the century.