More than 30,000 Sydney residents were asked on Monday to evacuate their homes due to “life-threatening” floods.
Why it’s important: Australia faces its fourth round of flooding in less than a year and a half, according to the Associated Press. The flood has been considered one of the worst rounds of extreme weather for the country’s most populous city in the last 18 months.
Leading the news: A strong storm off the south-east coast of Australia has brought moisture inland, combining with rough seas and strong winds, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
- More than 1.6 feet of rain has fallen over eastern New South Wales over the past 48 hours, CNN reports.
- Officials reported at least 3 feet of rain after days of torrential rains, which caused overflow dams and broken waterways, according to AP.
- About 32,000 people received evacuation orders and warnings due to widespread flooding, New South Wales State Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet told AP.
What they are saying: “The latest information we have is that there is a good chance that the floods will be worse than any of the other three floods that these areas have had in the last 18 months,” the Minister of Management said. Emergencies Murray Watt. for AP.
A flooded area in a Sydney suburb. Photo: Saeed Khan / AFP via Getty Images A flooded area in a Sydney suburb. Photo: Saeed Khan / AFP via Getty Images A submerged traffic sign. Photo: Saeed Khan / AFP via Getty Images
What we’re seeing: Sydney was preparing for more rain on Monday with the weather forecast to be reduced on Tuesday, according to The Guardian.
The big picture: Floods in Australia have become the new norm.
- The country has suffered some flooding during the early summer months. But it has now become a commonplace, raising questions about how to support communities that feel the weight of storms, according to CNN.
Thought bubble through Axios’ Andrew Freedman: Heavy rainfall events are a hallmark of climate change, with warming air and sea temperatures raising the amount of moisture in the atmosphere available for storms to clear. Numerous studies show clear links between the rise of extreme rainfall events around the world and man-made climate change.
- The fact that this is the fourth major flood event in New South Wales, including Sydney, in such a short time illustrates Australia’s vulnerability to these events, as well as the challenges of adapting to them. the new normal.
Go deeper: extreme time surpasses the world