Residents of Australia’s east coast, victims of extensive flooding, began clean-up operations on Thursday as the waters began to recede, revealing the extent of the damage.
The torrential rains that fell for a week in New South Wales, the most populous state in the region, killed two people.
Houses were severely damaged, agricultural crops destroyed and many roads covered with mud.
As the rains ceased, thousands of residents returned to their homes to assess the extent of the damage.
Hundreds of soldiers and volunteer firefighters took part in the operations, attempting to remove mud from the taxiways and clearing the debris using chainsaws.
Ben Shepherd, inspector in the rural fire service, told AFP that his teams are working to allow “a return to normal as soon as possible”. But “it could take weeks – even months – in some areas,” he said.
In the vast flooded region, many residents remain isolated, and he says around 20,000 people still cannot return to their homes.
“We believe that most of the rivers have reached their peak,” said New South Wales Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian, who, however, calls on the population to remain vigilant.
“Rises in water will continue to occur in some areas that have not seen such an amount of rain for half a century or even a century,” she said.
Since the start of the floods, which began at the end of last week, the rescue services have received more than 11,000 calls for help and brought relief to a thousand people.
The sun is expected to continue to shine over the flooded areas next week, forecasters say.
Near Sydney, along the swollen Hawkesbury River, relief workers are busy delivering food and essentials to areas still isolated.
Thousands of homes and businesses have suffered heavy damage and insurance companies have already received 22,000 claims.
In some areas of the coast, a meter of water fell in a week, equivalent to two-thirds of normal annual precipitation.
Scientists have warned that Australia is expected to be particularly exposed to extreme weather events due to climate change.
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