(Melbourne) Hundreds of homes were flooded on Friday in southeastern Australia, where thousands of residents were called to evacuate their flood-threatened homes.
Posted at 7:21 am
The state of Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state, was hit by a sudden rise in water levels which led in particular to the evacuation of the city of Maribyrnong, located on the outskirts of Melbourne.
“Our home is underwater,” Maribyrnong resident Leah Caluzzi told AFP, “water is way above life.”
In the streets, cars are engulfed by the waves, while residents have to be evacuated on rubber boats.
State Premier Daniel Andrews reported that 500 homes have been “flooded” and that rescuers can no longer access 500 properties surrounded by water.
“These numbers are sure to increase. The helicopters are currently carrying out a damage assessment, ”Mr. Andrews said early Friday afternoon, noting that the helicopters were still carrying out a“ damage assessment ”.
Most of the rainfall passed late Friday morning, but state emergency services warned that the floods would worsen as the upstream catchment areas capsized.
“The situation in the state of Victoria continues to deteriorate,” emergency services spokesman Tim Wiebusch told reporters.
He estimated that “a few areas” of this state would not be “affected by significant flooding in the next few days”.
In Shepparton, a city about two hours from Melbourne, 4,000 homes could be flooded early next week, Wiebusch estimated.
“Dirty and dangerous”
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp announced that the Australian military is deploying to parts of Victoria to assist residents erecting sandbag dams to prevent water from entering their homes. .
He spoke of a “great emergency for the State of Victoria”.
A disused COVID-19 quarantine center with a capacity of 1,000 people will be opened for residents forced to leave their homes.
Northern Tasmania, an island state south of Victoria, was also preparing for severe flooding on Friday.
Mass evacuation orders were issued and around 120 roads were closed due to heavy rains.
“The floods are putting lives at risk,” the Tasmania State Emergency Service said in a statement.
The third Australian state to be directly affected by these heavy rains is New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, where water levels could rise on Friday.
A center for displaced people has been set up after heavy rains on Thursday evening in Forbes, a town about a five-hour drive east of Sydney.
In March, the east coast of the mainland was hit hard by severe floods, which claimed 20 lives, as a result of several extreme weather events.
Thousands of Sydney residents were forced to flee their homes in July following heavy rains.
Australia is at the forefront of the consequences of climate change, with floods, forest fires, cyclones and droughts becoming more frequent and intense as the planet warms, scientists warn.
