Australia’s east coast is at risk of a “new deluge”, according to Sydney Morning Herald. While the region has been suffering from heavy flooding for several days, the Australian title assures that “the state of New South Wales should expect further very heavy rainfall”.
“At 10 a.m. Tuesday [5 juillet]there were already 102 evacuation orders in place across the state, deplores the daily. And 55 areas on red alert, concerning more than 55,000 people living in municipalities who are preparing to have to manage enormous damage. In five days, some towns south of Sydney recorded “four to eight times the volume of monthly precipitation”.
Questioned by the media, several meteorologists ensure: “The danger is not behind us.” “Jane Golding of the state weather bureau reports an approaching coastal disturbance that could bring even more intense rainfall to the north-central coast. [située au nord-est de la Nouvelle-Galles du Sud] and over the town of Coffs Harbor on Wednesday July 6th.”
Accumulation of natural disasters
“This new call for vigilance comes as the local government has already released an emergency fund for the thousands of flood victims in the region,” adds the Sydney newspaper. It also “declared a state of natural disaster in 23 towns, including Blacktown, Camden, Hornsby, Kiama and Wollongong”.
Live from Sydney Morning Heraldimages of submerged roads, cars blocked by the waves and beaches covered with foam show the extent of the damage in these localities.
Australia is increasingly affected by these types of weather events, contextualizes the BBC. “According to specialists, these floods are aggravated by climate change and the weather phenomenon La Niña [qui se traduit, entre autres, par un refroidissement de la surface de l’océan Pacifique].”
New South Wales, in particular, has been “ravaged by floods several times over the past eighteen months”according to the Sydney Morning Herald.