Many areas in the southeast of the country are flooded. However, rain is expected to continue for the next few days. Many households still have no electricity.
Melbourne – In south-eastern Australia, authorities have warned of further rain in the flood areas in the coming days. “This will cause the water to rise again and cause flooding,” Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday. Thousands of residents have already had to flee. Around 1,500 households are still without electricity.
Major flooding is expected on the Murray River on the border between Victoria and the state of New South Wales to the north from Wednesday, the national weather agency said on Tuesday. From Friday, record levels from 1993 could be exceeded. Residents of Echuca and other places in the region have been urged to get to safety.
Flood warnings also applied to several other rivers such as the Loddon. The AAP news agency reported that helpers hoped to keep the town of Kerang largely dry by means of a protective wall made of sandbags. However, it is feared that he could be cut off from the outside world for up to seven days.
Water levels slowly fell in some places over the course of Tuesday due to the initial drop in precipitation. There, some residents returned to their homes and emergency services began to clean up. According to media reports, dozens of schools and day-care centers in Victoria remained closed and hundreds of roads blocked.
Australia’s east coast has been hit by exceptionally heavy rain and flooding on several occasions this year. At the beginning of July, areas in the metropolis of Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, were flooded. In March, too, there were severe floods around the metropolis and in large parts of the state as well as in Queensland.