Heavy rains trigger fresh floods in Australia

Heavy rains trigger fresh floods in Australia. 

Heavy rains pounded Australia’s east coast for the second time this month, forcing thousands of flood-weary locals to flee their homes as authorities warned the powerful weather system would likely last for the next 24 hours.

After devastating floods earlier this month killed at least 21 people. It swept away hundreds of farms, houses, and cattle. 

Several communities in northern New South Wales and southeast Queensland were still trying to collect tons of wreckage.

Amid the recovery efforts, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning on Tuesday of possibly life-threatening flash floods throughout the northern New South Wales coast, spanning more than 500 kilometers (311 miles). 

The meteorological agency said that isolated rainfall of up to 300 mm (12 inches) might fall in some areas over the next six hours.

The current low-pressure system may be less severe than the previous one. Still, the already-soaked land from weeks of nonstop rains may cause river levels to surge suddenly.

For the second year in a row, Australia’s east coast summer has been dominated by the La Nina weather pattern, which is usually associated with increasing rainfall. Several rivers are already nearing capacity before the latest downpour.

In northern New South Wales, residents in low-lying regions of Lismore were urged to leave late Monday night after the town was among the worst impacted by record floods a month ago.

On Tuesday, Lismore mayor Steve Krieg told Channel Nine news, “We are very much in the hands of the Gods today.” “If the forecasted rains materialize, the river could swell substantially.”

Before evacuating their homes on television, residents were seen gathering sandbags from emergency personnel.

The possibility of another flood in the coming weeks, when locals were rebuilding their lives, “drains you emotionally and mentally,” Krieg said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is down in the polls in an election year, has declared the floods a national emergency and designated disaster zones in flood-affected municipalities to receive additional recovery cash.