The Australian government has declared a natural disaster across portions of New South Wales as torrential rainfall continues to inundate the region — and AccuWeather meteorologists warn that more heavy rain is on the way.
More than 18,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in New South Wales since heavy rainfall arrived late last week, according to CNN. As of Monday, there have been no reports of deaths due to the flooding, but NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott warned, “we are moving closer and closer to the inevitable fatality.”
During late 2019 and early 2020, AccuWeather estimated that bushfires across New South Wales and Victoria caused $110 billion in total damages and economic losses.
The heavy rainfall across the region is causing delays in the delivery of coronavirus vaccines ahead of the rollout of the Phase 1B. However, according to ABC News, the five metropolitan vaccination hubs in New South Wales remained open on Monday as the state moved into the next phase of vaccinations.
“I’ve been a flood forecaster in the Bureau for 20 years and this is probably the worst flooding that I’ve experienced and have had to forecast,” said Justin Robinson, the national flood services manager at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, in excess of 400 mm (16 inches) of rain has fallen along the northern New South Wales coast during the last seven days.
Port Macquarie is one area that has been hard hit with rainfall as totals reached 200-300 mm (8-12 inches) in just 24 hours from Friday into Saturday. Since Thursday, a total of 455 mm (17.9 inches) of rain has fallen. Water quickly collected in low-lying areas across the coastal town with reports of floodwaters reaching up to door handles in some locations.
“This is nothing like we’ve seen since the 1960s,” said state Premier Gladys Berejiklian at a news conference over the weekend. According to CNN, for some of the hardest-hit areas this is a once-in-a-century flooding event.
Across New South Wales on Monday, 174 schools closed due to flooding.
