Floods displace hundreds in Australia

“We’ve got 75 percent of New South Wales in either in flood or potentially impacted by flood,” the State Emergency Service spokesman Steven Pearce said on Thursday.

He added, “It’s an enormous area… we’re still expecting a large deluge of rain.”

A severe weather warning remains in place for much of the state, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting that between 70 and 200 millimeters of rain would lash much of the state until Saturday.

Among the areas worst affected by the flooding is the town of Goulburn, situated about 90 kilometers (55 miles ) north of the country’s capital, Canberra. The state emergency service has called on Goulburn residents to evacuate to higher ground.

With significant rainfall expected over the weekend, emergency crews are expecting the flooding situation to worsen in parts of the town.

In Sydney, the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales, officials are preparing for inflows into the city’s biggest dam Warragamba, which is currently at 92.7 per cent as it gets set to spill for the first time in 14 years.

The extra water to flow down from the brimming Warragamba dam is expected to swamp large areas of land in Sydney.

Outside the city, farmers have been told to move stock to higher ground, while about 30 caravan parks have been told to prepare to evacuate.

Federal Minister for Emergency Management Robert McClelland has urged people to steer clear of floodwaters and listen to the warnings.

“Remember that if you put yourself at risk, you are also putting at risk the lives and safety of the brave and dedicated first respondents who will try to rescue you,” he said in a statement.

MP/HN/GHN

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